USDA
USDA strengthens animal welfare standards for organic livestock
Organic farmers will have stronger and more consistent standards for treatment of their livestock under an animal welfare regulation that could take effect by the end of this year, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. The rule requires unlimited outdoor access for animals, an industry norm, and prohibits the small enclosed “porches” that some poultry farms have said are sufficient.
Project will help schools buy healthy food
The Urban School Food Alliance of 17 of the largest U.S. school districts will provide training to districts across the country on how to purchase high-quality food while keeping costs low, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
Climate mitigation gets $3 billion boost at USDA
More than $3 billion in USDA cost-sharing funds will be available to producers and foresters for climate mitigation projects in the fiscal year that begins this Sunday, the Agriculture Department said on Thursday.
After a bobble, grocery inflation trends downward again
Retail pork prices soared last year, part of an overall 11.4 percent increase in grocery prices, but they will decline this year by 1.1 percent, said USDA's monthly Food Price Outlook on Monday. The report forecast a grocery inflation rate of 5.1 percent this year and a below-normal 1.6 percent in the new year.
USDA launches Forest Corps alongside Biden’s Climate Corps
The White House announced the creation Wednesday of the American Climate Corps to train 20,000 young adults for work in clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience. At the same time, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Forest Corps, operating through the U.S. Forest Service, would be the first major interagency partnership with the Climate Corps.
Tap USDA funds to boost food aid and exports, say senators
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack should tap a USDA reserve fund to expand international food aid and export promotion programs, said the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee in a letter released on Wednesday.
Farm income booms for third year in a row
The U.S. agricultural sector is headed for the third year in a row of exceptionally high net farm income, albeit a step down from the record set last year. Since 2021, net farm income — a broad measure of profits — has run at least $39 billion a year above the 10-year average.
Project to connect small forest owners and carbon markets
The U.S. Forest Service will provide up to $150 million for a project to link small-acreage and underserved forest owners with the emerging climate market, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday. The USDA said forest owners with small amounts of land were often fenced out of carbon markets by contracts aimed at large tracts or that posed high start-up costs.
U.S. ag exports slow down, but imports don’t
At the three-quarter point in the trade year, U.S. food and agricultural imports were nearly $7 billion larger than farm exports, $148.2 billion vs. $141.4 billion, according to USDA data released on Thursday. The agency has forecast a $17 billion food trade deficit for the 12 months ending on Sept. 30, due to a drop-off in corn, wheat, beef, and poultry exports, while demand remained strong for imports that include wine, coffee, beer, fresh fruits and vegetables, and distilled spirits.
More states are incentivizing schools to buy local food
A growing number of states are reimbursing schools for buying locally grown and produced foods in an effort to improve children's diets while supporting local farmers. Before the pandemic, eight states and the District of Columbia had programs that subsidize local food purchases at schools — seven more states have added these programs since 2020.
Grants will help small and rural schools improve meals
Some 264 school districts across the nation will receive up to $150,000 apiece for projects to improve the nutritional quality of the meals served in small and rural schools, said the USDA on Monday. Nearly $30 million will be distributed through the Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small.
South would be hit hardest by USDA crop subsidy update
Growers in the U.S. South could lose $1.4 billion in farm subsidies over the next decade if Congress decides to align payments more closely with the crops they produce, said an analysis by Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee. “A mandatory base acre update would create winners and losers ... and most certainly complicate efforts to pass a new farm bill,” said the analysis.
Participation in summer meal programs takes a nosedive
An average of almost 3 million children ate lunch daily through USDA's summer nutrition programs last year, a huge decline from 5.4 million a day during summer 2021 with the effective end of pandemic-era operating flexibilities, said the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) on Monday. While lunch participation plunged by 44 percent, breakfast participation plunged by 62 percent, to an average of 1.8 million a day.
USDA and states to tackle anticompetitive practices
A new partnership between the USDA and 31 states will “help lower food costs for American families while also giving farmers and ranchers more and better options,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the White House on Wednesday.
Torres Small vows to help farms of all sizes succeed
Minutes after taking the oath of office on Monday, Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said the USDA should help farms of all sizes and types of production be successful. "That's why I'm so excited to have this job," said Torres Small, who received Senate confirmation last week for the No. 2 position.
USDA seeks precision in measuring greenhouse gases and carbon reductions
As part of President Biden's goal to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade, the USDA will spend $300 million to more accurately measure and verify GHG emissions and carbon sequestration by climate-smart agriculture, said the White House on Wednesday. Climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the project would help "the people on the front lines of the climate crisis to be part of the solution."
Senate confirms Torres Small as Agriculture deputy secretary
By more than a 10-to-1 margin, senators confirmed Xochitl Torres Small, the granddaughter of migrant farmworkers who became a lawyer and a U.S. lawmaker, as Agriculture deputy secretary on Tuesday. She is the first Hispanic to hold the No. 2 post at USDA, overseeing day-to-day operations at one of the largest federal departments.
Strong Senate support for Torres Small as Agriculture deputy secretary
President Biden's nominee for the No. 2 post at the Agriculture Department, Xochitl Torres Small, easily cleared a procedural hurdle on a 79-8 Senate roll call on Monday, opening the door to a confirmation vote expected on Tuesday. The granddaughter of migrant farmworkers, Torres Small would be the first Hispanic deputy secretary of the USDA.
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.