USDA
A solid majority likely in Senate for Perdue, says Grassley
Sonny Perdue can expect a broad and bipartisan vote in the Senate next week to become agriculture secretary, though it won’t be unanimous, said Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley.
Rain slows corn planting; impact on acreage is unclear
Widespread rain has slowed corn planting this spring, especially in the powerhouse states of the Midwest, says the USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report.
Beef imports are lowest in 13 months
U.S. beef imports are declining and are forecast to be 14 percent lower in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period a year ago, say USDA economists.
For second time, USDA delays fair-play rule for livestock marketing
Saying there are significant issues that warrant further review, the USDA delayed until Oct. 19 the implementation of an Obama-era rule that makes it easier for livestock producers to prove unfair treatment at the hands of meat processors. The largest cattle- and hog-producer groups called on the Trump administration to kill the rule outright. Advocates said the new delay was "anti-farmer."
Blessed by good weather, Brazil harvests record corn and soybean crops
Despite Brazil meat scandal, JBS expands reach in U.S.
Health authorities in Europe, China, and Brazil have all pulled beef from the Brazilian meat giant JBS off of grocery store shelves, in response to evidence that the company was involved in a massive corruption scandal to export rotten and contaminated meat. Yet in the U.S., the Trump Administration has yet to take meaningful action against JBS imports from Brazil. On the contrary, JBS has continued to expand its reach and political power in the U.S.
Senate to vote on USDA nominee Perdue after Easter recess
The first order of business for the Senate when it returns on April 24 from a two-week recess will be a vote on the nomination of Sonny Perdue for agriculture secretary. The last of President Trump's nominees for the cabinet, Perdue, a former two-term governor of Georgia, is arguably the last controversial nominee for the cabinet and has moved steadily, if slowly, toward confirmation.
Wildfire relief ordered by Trump becomes argument for Perdue confirmation
In response to fires that burned more than 1.5 million acres of rangeland in the southern Plains, the USDA opened the Conservation Reserve, normally off-limits to livestock, for grazing for the rest of the year in three states. The USDA said it acted at the direction of President Trump – a statement used to prod the Senate to vote on Trump's nominee for agriculture secretary.
Perdue ‘faces a real set of challenges’ due to late start, says Vilsack
Since January, Sonny Perdue's job has been simple yet slow to come into reach: Win Senate confirmation as agriculture secretary. Perdue's predecessor at USDA, Tom Vilsack, said during a public radio interview, "Gov. Perdue faces a real set of challenges because his confirmation has been delayed as long as it has."
USDA calls meetings on potential updates to livestock trace-back rule
Four years after it issued a regulation on animal disease traceability, the USDA will hold seven regional meetings across the country to see how it's working and to discuss "potential next steps." The regulation put states and tribes in charge of developing trace-back systems and ended years of opposition to proposals for a federal database of livestock movement and ownership.
Perdue cleared for Senate vote in historically slow walk to USDA
It could be May before Sonny Perdue starts work at the Department of Agriculture, the latest start for an incoming secretary since USDA became a federal department in 1889. The Senate Agriculture Committee approved Perdue's nomination on a voice vote but it's not clear when the Senate will vote.
It’s a day later but not a postponement for vote on Sonny Perdue
The Senate Agriculture Committee will try again today for a vote on Sonny Perdue to become agriculture secretary. Chairman Pat Roberts originally planned to hold a vote on Wednesday alongside a roll call vote by the full Senate but there was no such vote so the committee announced an "updated time" of today, immediately following the first floor vote in the chamber, expected around 9:45 a.m. ET.
Senate Ag panel to vote today on Perdue nomination
The pace of action is picking up for President Trump’s nominee for agriculture secretary, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. Chairman Pat Roberts says the Senate Agriculture Committee will vote Wednesday to favorably report the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation.
Hands off the lunch-time ‘share table,’ say school officials in two states
The USDA encourages "share tables" as a way to reduce food waste in school meals. The idea is that children can return untouched food and beverages that become available to children who are still hungry, says Civil Eats, "But there has also been some surprising pushback lately."
USDA nixes planned glyphosate tests
Brazilian packer cuts production as sales fizzle in beef scandal
The largest meatpacker in the world, JBS, has suspended operations at 33 of its 36 plants in Brazil "amid the corruption scandal that has caused some of the country's biggest export markets to ban Brazilian meats," said Reuters. A police investigation says meat inspectors accepted bribes to allow sales of low-quality meat, or did not inspect plants at all; the Agriculture Ministry says only a couple of dozen plants were targeted.
A smooth path to USDA for Perdue, but not speedy
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, the last of President Trump's nominees for the cabinet, is sailing, albeit slowly, to confirmation as agriculture secretary with the backing of the major U.S. farm groups. The agricultural community talks so much about Perdue buckling down to work at USDA that today's confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee or Senate approval of the nomination seems like a formality.
Dairy farmers ask for more generous subsidy plan
The dairy subsidy created in the 2014 farm law, the insurance-like Margin Protection Program, "is not working" but it can be retooled into an effective safety net, the head of the National Milk Producers Federation told the House Agriculture Committee. The changes would provide more assistance to producers during tough times, like the past couple of years, and potentially drive up costs to the government.