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Ten RECs get $4.4 billion in New ERA clean energy funding

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $4.37 billion in grants and loans to 10 rural electric cooperatives on Thursday for clean energy projects that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.1 million tons a year. With the awards, the USDA has allocated nearly $9 billion of the $9.7 billion available in the Empowering Rural America program.

Vilsack says Rollins has key asset — Trump’s ear

Brooke Rollins is sure to be confirmed by the Senate as Agriculture secretary in the new Trump administration, and she will start with a valuable asset — an ongoing relationship with the president, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

AquaBounty, developer of GMO salmon, to cease fish farming operations

AquaBounty Technologies, which in 2015 became the first company to gain FDA approval of a GMO animal for human consumption, a salmon, said that after months of retrenchment, it would shut down its fish farming operations. Environmental groups had challenged the FDA decision in court for years and won promises from major grocers and food service companies not to stock the AquAdvantage salmon.

Two thirds of large crop farms use precision agriculture technology, says report

Some 68 percent of large crop farms use precision agriculture technology that generates information that aids decision-making by operators, such as yield monitors, yield maps, and soil maps, said the USDA on Tuesday. The annual "Farms and Ranches at a Glance" report showed higher-volume farms are heavy users of the technology, notwithstanding earlier reports showing a low usage rate by farmers nationwide.

Bird flu hits California farms hard in November

The avian influenza virus was identified in 100 dairy herds in the past week and in two dozen domestic flocks with more than 3 million birds so far this month in California, the U.S. hot spot for the viral disease, said state and USDA data on Tuesday. The state accounts for two-thirds of the 650 infected dairy herds in the nation.

USDA calls dairy farmer vote on milk marketing order reforms

Dairy farmers will vote in the weeks ahead on a package of milk marketing reforms that includes a higher price for fresh milk destined for table consumption, said the USDA on Tuesday. The Agricultural Marketing Service issued its so-called final decision, opening the way for the farmer referendum, after a 60-day comment period and a final review of the proposed amendments.

As rural America turns gray, ‘older age’ counties triple

Roughly one in five rural Americans is over the age of 65, and the number of "older age" counties, where at least 20 percent of residents have reached retirement age, has tripled since 2010, said a USDA report on Tuesday. Rural counties have a higher proportion of elderly residents than urban counties.

Stable near-term corn, soy, and wheat prices at U.S. farm gate, USDA says

For the next few years, season-average prices for U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat, the three most widely grown crops in the country, will largely mirror the market prices for this year’s crops, projected the Agriculture Department on Thursday. The steep declines in farm-gate prices since 2022 would be replaced by a period of relative stability, according to the USDA’s long-term baseline.

Rural landslide is part of ‘historic realignment’ in Trump victory

President Trump rolled up 63 percent of the vote in rural America, a larger margin than in 2016, on the way to winning a second term in the White House on Tuesday. Farm groups offered to work with him on Wednesday to pass the new farm bill, now 14 months overdue, and to bring high costs under control.

Miller, Tom, and McKinney mentioned for Trump USDA posts

Texas agriculture commissioner Sid Miller, former ambassador Kip Tom, and Ted McKinney, a onetime USDA undersecretary, were among a handful of men viewed as potential nominees to run the Department of Agriculture when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

USDA announces $235 million in disaster relief

Payments totaling $235 million are being issued this week to producers hit by natural disasters, including Hurricane Milton in Florida, said the Agriculture Department. The payments make up the bulk of $375 million in spending announced for various USDA programs on Wednesday.

USDA agencies to collaborate on preservation of wildlife corridors

From the Forest Service to the Farm Service Agency, USDA agencies will work in concert to preserve wildlife corridors on public and privately owned land, said three senior officials on Monday. The collaboration would extend to state and tribal governments.

Seeded by USDA, climate-smart products speed to market, says Vilsack

Nearly four dozen climate-smart commodities, from beets and bourbon to corn and yogurt, are on the market two years after the USDA launched the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities project, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday. The $3.1 billion public-private initiative, with 135 demonstration projects, is meant to encourage farmers to adopt climate-mitigating practices on working lands while creating a market for the products.

Distressed borrowers get $250 million in USDA assistance

Some 4,650 financially distressed farmers who owe money on USDA direct and guaranteed loans will share $250 million in payments from the government, said the Agriculture Department on Monday. With the assistance, "more than 4,600 producers across the country will see another production season," said Zach Ducheneaux, Farm Service Agency administrator.

USDA doubles its funding for climate mitigation projects

The Biden administration allotted $5.7 billion for climate mitigation work through USDA's conservation programs in the coming 12 months, double the amount offered in the just-ended fiscal year. There is record interest in USDA's stewardship programs "and we're confident that we can continue to get the support out to conservation-minded producers," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday.

USDA provides $1.7 billion to buy food for emergency assistance

The Agriculture Department will distribute $1.7 billion for the purchase of locally and regionally produced food for emergency food assistance, said Agriculture deputy secretary Xochitl Torres Small on Tuesday. Most of the money would flow through schools, childcare facilities, and food banks and some would go directly to emergency food providers.

Farm sector is in a downturn, say economists

After seeing record profitability in 2022, the U.S. farm sector is in a downturn for an indefinite period, said a band of agricultural economists on Monday. Congress could feel pressure to provide a bailout to buffer the decline in income, at the same time that producers try to pare their costs, they said at a conference sponsored by the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City.

Drugs often used on livestock despite ‘raised without antibiotics’ label

Federal researchers found drug residues in one of every five cattle marketed as “raised without antibiotics” in samples collected last fall, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. The findings “underscore the need for more rigorous substantiation of such claims,” it said, in “strongly” encouraging — but not requiring — meat processors to routinely test for residues if they put a “no antibiotics ever” label on their meat.

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