Agriculture Department
Food stamps – short-term aid and and long-term support
For many people, food stamps, the premiere U.S. anti-hunger program, provides assistance during a fairly brief stretch of hard times, such as unemployment. For millions of others - foremost, the elderly and disabled - the program is a long-term support, says a new Agriculture Department report, Dynamics and Determinants of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation from 2008 to 2012. Food stamps were renamed SNAP in 2008 but the original name remains in use.
California turkey flock is first commercial case of bird flu
The highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza virus was confirmed in a commercial turkey flock in Stanislaus County, in the heavily agricultural Central Valley of California, said the Agriculture Department.
USDA: 13 avian influenza cases found, “we anticipate” more
Thirteen cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza were confirmed in the Northwest U.S. since Dec 8, including three cases on Jan 16, said the Agriculture Department. None were in commercial flocks. "Because the H5N2 and H5N8 avian influenza strains are currently circulating in migratory birds in the Pacific flyway, we anticipate our active surveillance will result in additional findings in both wild birds and in backyard flocks with access to the outdoors," said USDA.
USDA research imposes “a steep cost” on animal welfare
USDA's Meat Animal Research Center in the Nebraska plains is re-engineering cattle, pigs and sheep "to fit the needs of the 21st Century...animals that produce more offspring, yield more meat and cost less to raise," says a front-page New York Times story.
Back as top exporter, Thailand to set record for rice sales
Back as the No 1 rice exporter in the world, Thailand will export a record 11 million tonnes of rice during 2015 due in part to higher demand from Indonesia, whose population is growing more rapidly than rice production, said the Agriculture Department in...
USDA offers more protection against loss of specialized crops
The Agriculture Department announced an expansion of the Noninsured Crop Disaster Program (NAP) to cover more crops and at higher levels of protection. NAP operates like insurance for crops not covered by the federally subsidized insurance program.
USDA reports today may steer commodity prices until spring
The Agriculture Department is to release a handful of potentially pivotal reports today at noon ET that could set the tone for futures markets until spring-planting data becomes available. They include a final look at 2014 U.S. crop production; the monthly WASDE report with its estimates of crop output and usage worldwide; the Winter Wheat Seedings report, the first hint of this year's crops, and the quarterly Grain Stocks report, which will indicate...
Hudson Valley Farm Hub focuses on mid-size operations
There are a lot of small farms in the United States and 200,000-300,000 large-scale operations that dominate production of the major row crops.
India to challenge WTO ruling in favor of US poultry imports
India plans to challenge a World Trade Organization ruling that it unfairly banned imports of U.S. poultry meat as a safeguard against avian influenza, says The Economic Times, of India.
Persistent low prices to reduce US crop area by 5 percent
Farmers will scale back plantings of the eight major field crops by nearly 5 percent - a total of 12.3 million acres - over the next five years in response to sustained, lower commodity prices, projects the Agriculture Department. The biggest cutbacks would be in wheat, down 8 percent, and soybeans, down 7 percent, from this year's levels. Corn, the most widely grown crop in the nation, would drop by 1.5 percent.
USDA allots funds for advanced biofuel and Farm to School
A combined $9.6 million will go into grants to support production of advanced biofuels and the bio-economy, said the Agriculture Department. The largest block of money, $5.6 million, was divided among...
USDA apportions $200 million for ag export promotion
The Agriculture Department distributed $200 million in cost-sharing funds to 84 organizations to promote U.S. farm exports and to build markets for the products overseas.
US corn crop is slightly smaller, average price slightly higher
The Agriculture Department lowered its estimates of the corn and wheat crops marginally and raised its estimate of the soybean crop by 1 percent in its monthly crop report.
USDA has 100 undercover agents looking for fraud, abuse
At the Agriculture Department, "more than 100 undercover agents pose as food stamp recipients at thousands of neighborhood stores to spot suspicious vendors and fraud," says the New York Times in a story about a significant expansion throughout the government of undercover work.
US approves GE potato that reduces suspect acrylamides
The Agriculture Department approved cultivation of the Innate potato developed by JR Simplot Co. and genetically engineered to produce smaller amounts of acrylamides when it is fried.
USDA asks comments on a new, separate beef checkoff
The Agriculture Department seeks public comment on all aspects, from the size of the assessment to who will be in charge, of a separate beef checkoff program that it intends to create.
USDA retools its working-lands conservation program
The Agriculture Department unveiled revisions in the Conservation Stewardship Program to reflect the directions of the 2014 farm law and invited public comments on its proposals.
US farm exports set a record at $152.5 billion
U.S. farm exports set back-to-back records, climbing to $152.5 billion in just-ended fiscal 2014, said the Agriculture Department, up 8 percent from the mark set one year earlier.