USDA
An agriculture secretary for veep? That’s a winning ticket, historically.
Hillary Clinton isn't the first presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to think about putting a successful agriculture secretary from Iowa on the ticket. Franklin Roosevelt did it in 1940, choosing fellow New Dealer Henry A Wallace as his running mate on the way to drubbing Republican businessman Wendell Willkie, and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. Charles McNary.
Bill would add USDA to U.S. review of foreign investors
Senate Judiciary chairman Charles Grassley is sponsoring a bill to make USDA a permanent member of the U.S. panel that decides if foreign purchases of U.S. companies impinge on national security. "This bill will raise the stature of agriculture ... so we don't make the mistake of selling too much control of our food supply to foreign countries," Grassley told reporters.
Maine threatens to pull out of food stamp program
Escalating a feud with the federal government, Gov. Paul LePage said Maine would pull out of the food stamp program, potentially cutting off benefits for 190,000 residents, if not allowed to ban purchase of junk food. An aide said LePage "did not threaten to end the program, he threatened to stop administering it ... so the feds would be forced to administer it in Maine."
Coalition tells USDA: Thumbs down on organic checkoff
The USDA should reject the checkoff program proposed by the organic industry, says a coalition of opponents, who contend the checkoff would fail to expand U.S. production despite seemingly insatiable consumer demand.
Organic food keeps price premium as market grows
Shoppers paid a premium of more than 20 percent for organic foods from 2004-10 while the market for organic groceries was blossoming, says a USDA study, with consumers likely to spend more for products, such as milk and baby food, fed to children. Price premiums cut both ways: they encourage growers to expand production but if they are too high, they diminish the market for the goods.
USDA races for rules to reform livestock market
The Obama administration is pushing back against critics of its plans to overhaul fair-play rules for livestock marketing, saying opposition to the rules "demonstrates a complete lack of concern for honest, hard-working families." Congress repeatedly blocked USDA from issuing the rules but USDA has a window of opportunity that may close at the end of September, says DTN.
Biotech company to close research lab as part of USDA penalty
California company Santa Cruz Biotechnology, one of the world's largest suppliers of antibodies for research, agreed to pay a $3.5 million fine, close its research lab and surrender its animal-dealer license in an agreement that resolves USDA complaints that the company mistreated animals, reports the Santa Cruz Tribune.
Capitol Hill tries to derail rule for healthy foods at food stamp stores
In a fractious election year, lawmakers are united on one issue — blocking USDA's proposal for retailers to stock a greater variety of healthy foods if they want to be part of the $80 billion food stamp program. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a provision to bar USDA from working on the regulation in the fiscal year opening on Oct. 1, echoing action by House appropriators a month ago.
USDA: House child-nutrition bill pinches poor, subsidizes well-off students
The child-nutrition bill written by House Republicans "is harmful to children's health," said the USDA in the strongest criticism yet of the bill by the administration. In a statement, the agency said the bill "heaps administrative costs on schools and plans to bury parents in more bureaucratic red tape, all while subsidizing well-off children at the expense of our less fortunate children who need help."
USDA knows its beans about baked beans, cauliflower too.
Effective June 8, the USDA will have a new definition of canned baked beans for its voluntary labeling program. In a notice to appear today in the Federal Register, the agency says the revised definition reflects advances in technology in the processing industry, rather than referring to a specific method -- pressure cooking -- for preparing the beans.
With grain prices falling, landowners rush to Conservation Reserve
USDA says it saw the strongest competition among landowners in the 30-year history of the Conservation Reserve when it held the first "general" signup in three years. There were 26,000 offers totaling 1.8 million acres to idle cropland in exchange for an annual payment.
Rural investment fund to focus on food and agribusiness
A new private investment fund has the potential to put $100 million into small food and agriculture businesses in rural America. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the creation of the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund at a White House conference on rural business. It will be the fourth Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) created with USDA assistance since 2014 with the goal of directing private-sector capital into rural economic growth.
House panel would bar public-records searches of checkoff programs
Some of the biggest commodity groups in the country have enlisted lawmakers in a quiet campaign to shut off public access to the activities of the quasi-governmental boards that promote U.S. cotton, beef, eggs and other agricultural products.
Cornucopia Institute sues USDA, claiming corporate takeover of organic board
The Cornucopia Institute—an organic watchdog group—has filed a lawsuit against the USDA, claiming that the agency stacked the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) with agribusiness representatives, instead of farmers.
Squabble over poultry ‘rider’ expected at USDA budget markup
Maryland Rep. Andy Harris is expected to try to block the USDA from issuing new fair-play rules today for poultry farmers who raise birds under contract for large processors, said a small-farm advocacy group.
California farmworkers face high rates of food insecurity, obesity
Nearly half of the farm workers in Yolo County, California, face food insecurity, three times the rate of farm workers in the rest of California and in the United States, says a new report out by the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS).
GE mushroom that resists browning free of USDA biotech rules
USDA said a mushroom whose genes were edited is not subject to its biotechnology regulations because it contains no added genetic material.
EPA study: Pesticides hurting endangered species
Nearly all of the 1,782 animals and plants listed under the Endangered Species Act are at risk from the two most commonly used pesticides, according to a new EPA report.