Committee clears Biden nominee Moffitt for vote in Senate
Jennifer Moffitt, who would give farmers more leverage through USDA rules in dealing with meat processors, is one step away — a favorable vote in the Senate — from becoming agriculture undersecretary for marketing. Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee recommended her confirmation on a …
U.S. ends organic recognition agreement with India
Organic producers in India have six months to gain certification with a USDA-accredited certifying agent, said the USDA on Monday in announcing the termination of an organic recognition agreement dating from 2006. “We need a more active oversight presence in India to more directly protect …
Perdue makes Codex a trade office, dismembers GIPSA
After a pause for additional discussion, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a reorganizational memorandum that puts the U.S. Codex Office under the control of USDA's chief trade officer and eliminates the Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration as a stand-alone agency, with its duties absorbed by the much larger Agricultural Marketing Service. Both moves were protested as undue kowtowing to agribusinesses when Perdue announced them during the Labor Day lull.
Undersecretary Avalos to leave USDA at mid-month
Ed Avalos, the agriculture undersecretary in charge of marketing and regulatory programs, will leave USDA in mid-September, said The Hagstrom Report. Given the short time before a new administration takes office, a spokesman told the newsletter that USDA would try to promote someone already in office to handle the job for the next few months.
Farm, consumer groups ask USDA to reinstate ‘grass-fed beef’ label
Two months after USDA terminated a voluntary program for labeling grass-fed beef, nine farm and consumer groups asked the department to spell out the conditions for using the term.