Agriculture Department
A lens for viewing today’s US planting, stocks reports
In two reports today, the Agriculture Department will clarify how tight soybean stocks will get this summer and how large, possibly record-setting, the fall harvests will be.
Senate panel to hear about child nutrition programs
The president of the National Parent Teacher Association, Otha Thornton, is among witnesses scheduled for a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on child nutrition programs today at 10 a.m. ET.
House agenda: Yes to CFTC and USDA bills, no to immigration
The House could begin debate this week on the Agriculture Department funding bill for the fiscal year that opens on Oct 1, says Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office.
US-Brazil cotton settlement reported, USDA says not so
"Brazil is likely to receive $400 million from the United States as part of an agreement to compensate the South American country" in the decade-old cotton subsidy dispute, says Agro-South.
Wild West days at the Big Data ranch
The big questions for the emerging Big Data era in agriculture will be resolved in the next couple of years, a panel of experts said on Tuesday, although none suggested the likely results.
US food price increase steady at 3 pct
In a monthly update, the Agriculture Department stuck to its forecast of a 3 pct annual increase in food prices this year.
Crop scouts tour cold- and drought-hit winter wheat crop
Crop scouts set off today for the annual inspection tour of the winter wheat crop in Kansas, the No 1 grower. The tour provides a timely look at a crop that will be ready for harvest in a few weeks.
USDA tech report: 51 patents in 2013
The Agriculture Department received 51 patents and unveiled 180 inventions during fiscal 2013, according to its annual Report on Technology Transfer.
How much of grocer revenue comes from food stamps?
The government could soon be required to make public how much a retailer or a specific store records in food stamp sales, says a story in Mother Jones and produced in partnership with the Food and Environment Reporting Network; a longer version appears at thefern.org.
USDA requires reporting of PEDV outbreaks
In a step to protect the U.S. swine, herd, AgSec Vilsack announced the Agriculture Department will require reports of cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus and the similar Swine Delta Coronavirus.
Cold weather, late snowfall slow spring planting
Nothing says spring planting like snowfall across the upper Midwest in mid-April, does it? Up to five inches of snow fell in north central Wisconsin on Monday with forecasts of an inch or two of snow today in Detroit and Toledo.
USDA to release Census of Agriculture on May 2
The Agriculture Department said it will release the full results of the Census of Agriculture on May 2, after more than a year of work.
U.S. corn, soybean supplies are smaller than expected
Strong overseas demand for U.S. corn and soybeans will mean smaller than expected stockpiles in coming months, the government said in a monthly update of crop output and usage worldwide.
USDA to revive soybean crush report in early fall
The Agriculture Department plans to begin monthly reports in September or October on soybean crush, corn mill grind and cotton mill use, a senior official told reporters on Monday.
USDA awards $35 mln to historically black colleges
The Agriculture Department announced $35 million in grants to the historically black 1890 land grant colleges and universities.
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.