USDA
Vilsack selects Thieman as chief of staff
Karla Thieman will move from chief of staff for Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden to the same post for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the USDA announced.
First-year price of 2014 farm-bill crop subsidies, $6.5 billion
The government will make its first crop-subsidy payments under the 2014 farm law in October, with an estimated transfer of $6.5 billion to follow, said USDA deputy undersecretary Alexis Taylor at a House Agriculture Committee hearing.
Dry weather cuts Canadian wheat crop sharply from 2014
Canada, one of the five largest wheat growers and exporters of the world, faces a huge decline in wheat production this year, says the monthly World Agricultural Production report.
Record consumption to pare down corn stockpile
Processors, exporters and livestock feeders will use a record 13.8 billion bushels of corn this marketing year, helping to pare down the largest stockpile in nine years.
Average retail egg price is more than double what it was a year ago
Supermarkets are advertising eggs at an average $3.13 a dozen for Large white eggs Grade A or better - more than double the price of a year ago, says the USDA's weekly National Retail Report. "The weighted average price of Grade A or better Large white eggs continues to trend sharply higher to record levels," says the report. The national average price a year ago was $1.41 a dozen.
Wild duck with avian influenza found in Utah
Utah wildlife officials reported a mallard duck was the third waterfowl in the state with avian influenza since December, said the Associated Press.
USDA to award $8 million for nutrition training
The Agriculture Department said it will award $8 million "to help school nutrition professionals better prepare healthy meals for their students."
USDA may pro-rate payments for farm program
The government plans to pro-rate subsidy payments for 2014, 2015 and 2016 grain and soybean crops, says economist Art Barnaby of Kansas State U at the Ag Manager website.
Time running out for school lunch, ag bills during fall session
At a news conference today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will kick off the drive for renewal of child-nutrition programs that almost certainly will miss the Sept. 30 deadline for reauthorization.
Avian flu expected back in the fall
This spring the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza epidemic tore through poultry farms across 15 U.S. states, leading to the death of 48 million birds. The bulk of those were egg-laying hens, though turkey production was affected, too.
Vilsack to step up nutrition battle next week
The USDA announced today that Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will continue his campaign for reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, otherwise known as the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, with a speech at the National Press Club on September 8.
Egg group has egg on its face
A series of emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act paint an unflattering picture of the American Egg Board’s campaign against a startup plant-based food company.
Lower farm income shakes ag sector
The USDA’s recent estimate of a 36-percent decline in net farm income from 2014 to 2015 due to low grain prices has the agriculture sector on edge.
Sen. McCaskill slams anti-GMO movement
Sen. Claire McCaskill, on a tour earlier this week of a research farm in Columbia, Missouri, criticized GMO opponents and said she wouldn’t tolerate bias against GMOs in federally funded ag research, according to the Missourian.
Vilsack addresses critics of Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act
Speaking before the Center of American Progress yesterday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack dismissed criticism that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act placed too large a financial burden on school districts.
Lack of future farmland bad news for beginning farmers
The USDA’s new rental survey showed that access to land is increasingly becoming a barrier for beginning farmers.
Farmers take back control of big data
In what amounts to a revolt against the data-gathering initiatives of companies like Monsanto and Dupont, farmers are increasingly using sensors and other technology to gather their own data from their fields--and either crunching it themselves, selling it to aggregators and other ag-industry players, or both.
Drought caused early harvest and diminished quality of wheat crop in Washington State
Blistering heat and arid weather pushed the wheat crop to maturity two weeks earlier than usual in Washington State and undermined its value, says the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
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.