USDA
USDA names Shere chief veterinarian
Low prices pull down U.S. crop plantings
Farmers say they'll plant the third-largest amount of corn grown since World War II and the third-highest soybean area on record, superlatives that disguise some of the bad news in the annual Prospective Plantings report.
U.S. tally of organic producers grows 12 percent in a year
While a small fraction of U.S. agriculture, the number of certified organic operations is climbing at the fastest rate since 2008. The USDA says there are 21,781 organic operations, up 12 percent in a year. The United States accounts for two-thirds of the organic producers worldwide. "Organic food is one of the fastest-growing segments of American agriculture," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Senate appropriator Moran may see challenge in Kansas
A Tea Party group in Kansas said it may encourage Milton Wolf to run in the Republican primary on Aug. 2 against first-term Sen. Jerry Moran, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees USDA and FDA funding.
Former No. 2 USDA official becomes DuPont executive
Obama to ask for doubling of funds for USDA ag research program
After years of gradual increases in funding, the administration will seek $700 million for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, said White House science advisor John Holdren.
Harden moves on, Clifford changes chairs
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden announced she will leave the USDA at the end of February after six years at the department in various jobs. Agriculture Undersecretary Michael Scuse, who oversees the farm program and U.S. export programs, will become acting deputy secretary and Alexis Taylor, a Scuse deputy, will take over the duties of undersecretary.
USDA slow off the mark during hog epidemic
After examining USDA's handling of an epidemic that killed millions of pigs across the country, the Government Accountability Office said the department needs a stronger plan for dealing with disease threats. In a report, GAO faulted USDA for a lackluster response when the swine enteric coronavirus diseases were detected in May 2013.
Continuity is important, says Vilsack
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the last of President Obama's original cabinet members, won't make promises but he might become the first secretary since the Johnson era to serve eight years.
Settlement talk in USDA scientist whistleblower case
An administrative law judge set a Jan 6 session to discuss a possible settlement of a complaint by a USDA scientist of mistreatment after he suggested neonicotinoid pesticides are a threat to insects that pollinate crops, said the Washington Post.
Farm Bureau launches survey of USDA programs
The largest U.S. farm organization announced an online survey open to all farmers and ranchers to rate their experiences with 10 USDA programs on soil and water conservation, rural energy, farmers markets, and farm operating and land ownership loans.
USDA offers $350 million to buy land easements
Some $350 million is available this fiscal year "to help landowners protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands across the nation," said USDA. The money will flow through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program for voluntary purchase of easements to keep land in farming and ranching and to protect wildlife habitat and water resources.
Experts propose USDA reorganization for new president
The Agriculture Department should be reorganized to give a higher priority to food safety, better coordinate services to farmers, and link market development with trade, recommends a panel of experts.
Bird flu vaccination is wise precaution, says drug maker
Is the check in the mail?
With commodity prices and farm income in a slump, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts called on USDA to send subsidy checks to growers due on their 2014 crops. "According to law, payments to eligible producers ... were to start on October 1 or as soon as practicable," said the Kansas Republican in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
At USDA, Obama launches TPP ratification drive
President Obama traveled to the Agriculture Department headquarters on the national Mall to seek support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, one day after the pact was sealed and months before Congress will vote on it. "We are going to be talking not just to members of Congress but the American public and various constituencies, and governors, and mayors who are represented here about why this is good for their communities," Obama said.
USDA allots $113 million for specialty crop research
Retail beef price up 15%, pork up 12% since last summer
Beef prices are up 15 percent from a year ago and pork prices are up nearly 12 percent due to short supplies, said the Agriculture Department in a look at food inflation. Some relief is expected in the remaining months of the year, so USDA forecasts the average beef price this year to be 9 percent higher than last year. Pork would be 8 percent higher.
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.