Agriculture Department
USDA could take step this week toward new beef checkoff
The Agriculture Department could ask for suggestions as early as this week on how to structure a new beef checkoff program, said an official at the largest U.S. farm group.
Farmers get additional week to sign up for dairy subsidies
Dairy farmers can enroll in the new dairy support program, the insurance-like Margin Protection Program, until Dec 5, one more week than originally announced, said the Agriculture Department.
Up to $100 million to restore Gulf wetlands and farmland
The Agriculture Department and a congressionally created foundation will put up to $100 million into restoration of wetlands, farmland and waterways damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster of 2010.
Rogue GE wheat puts USDA controls in doubt
Food and environmental groups are renewing calls for the Agriculture Department "to adopt a slower, more stringent approval process" for genetically engineered crops, says USA Today.
Beef prices to zoom 11 percent this year, pork nears plunge
Beef prices are at record highs, due to the smallest U.S. cattle inventory since 1951, and are now forecast to average 11 percent higher this year than during 2013.
USDA to re-start ethanol report in February
The Agriculture Department aims for a February launch for a revived government report on ethanol production, says a spokesman. It would be the first of several reports that USDA will produce after they were dropped by the Census Bureau during budget cuts in 2011.
USDA awards $4 million for obesity and nutrition centers
Cornell, Purdue, North Carolina and Colorado State universities will establish research centers on nutrition education and obesity prevention with $3.4 million in funding from the Agriculture Department.
Global warming could condense U.S. milk production
Milk production at the average U.S. dairy farm could fall by as much as 1.4 percent due to the addition heat stress on dairy cows from global warming in 2030 when temperatures could be 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher, says an Agriculture Department study.
Bio-based products are growing industry, says USDA
The Agriculture Department released a report summarizing studies of the potential benefits of "the emerging bio-economy." Bio-based chemicals could account for more than 10 percent of the chemical market in 2015, according to a study cited in the report.
Larger loans for smaller-scale farmers
New rules for "micro loans" to small and beginning farmers will take effect on Nov 7, said the Agriculture Department in carrying out a provision of the 2014 farm law.
Specialty crops get $118 million for promotion and research
The Agriculture Department announced $118 million in grants for research and market-building for specialty crops - fruits, vegetables, horticulture, nuts and nursery crops.
Third year of record sales by agricultural cooperatives
Agricultural cooperatives had record sales of more than $246 billion in 2013, the third year in a row of record-setting volume and a reflection of boom times in the farm sector, said the Agriculture Department.
USDA creates Web tool for Supplemental Coverage Option
The Agriculture Department put on the Internet a "tool" to help growers assess how the Supplemental Coverage Option would apply to their crops and the approximate cost of the coverage.
USDA sees no adverse impact from GE moth
In a 149-page environmental assessment, the Agriculture Department says untoward impacts "are unlikely" from a field test of genetically engineered diamondback moths.
A farm export record and then a 5 percent slide
U.S. farm exports are headed for a record $152.5 billion in the fiscal year ending on Sept 30, says the Agriculture Department.
USDA assesses impact of GE diamondback moth
The Agriculture Department set a 30-day comment period on its environmental assessment of a proposed release of genetically engineered diamondback moths in upstate New York.
Despite slowdown, US farm equity to rise in 2014
U.S. farm equity is forecast to rise by 2.3 percent this year as the sector continues to generate wealth despite lower farm income, a cooling off of land prices and higher borrowing costs, said the Agriculture Department.
Farm sector stronger than expected in a down year
Record livestock prices and bumper crops are blunting greatly a downturn in the farm economy, said the Agriculture Department in its semiannual Farm Sector Income forecast. USDA says net cash farm income, a measure of the ability to pay bills, will drop by 6 percent this year instead of the 22 percent plunge forecast in February.
USDA and Interior stress cooperation in fighting wildfires
The two largest public-lands agencies in the United States, the Interior and Agriculture departments, “signed a memorandum emphasizing cooperation among federal, state, tribal and local agencies in battling wildfires as the main part of the wildfire season arrives,” said The Associated Press. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed the memorandum following a briefing at the interagency fire command center in Boise, Idaho.