USDA
Sharp jump in recalls of organic food products
Organic food accounts for 7 percent of all food units recalled this year, compared to 2 percent in 2014, according to Stericycle, a company that handles recalls, reports the New York Times.
Plant scientist works on drought-tolerant lettuce
At a USDA lab in Salinas, California, scientist Renee Eriksen is trying to create a drought-tolerant lettuce, says the Salinas Californian.
USDA greenlights another GMO potato
The USDA announced on Friday that it had approved a second genetically engineered (GE) potato variety developed by the J.R. Simplot Company, an important step in bringing the potato to market.
Grain trains back on track
As the USDA prepares to announce another near-record harvest, farmers in the upper Midwest can breathe a sigh of relief that plenty of train cars will be available to ship their grains to market, says the Associated Press.
Farmers go wireless
When they want to go on the Web, farmers are moving firmly to wireless and satellite connections and leaving behind the traditional terrestrial line, according to a biennial USDA report.
Drought has less impact than feared on California agriculture
One of the most productive agricultural regions of the world, California has suffered less than expected from the drought that started four years ago, partly due to "the increased, but unsustainable, groundwater pumping," says a report by Pacific Institute, a think tank.
Vilsack taps McKalip as acting chief of staff
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has chosen Doug McKalip as his acting chief of staff, said a USDA spokeswoman, who said McKalip "has a long record of service to American agriculture."
U.S. seeks up to 500 million doses of bird-flu vaccine
The government wants to stockpile up to 500 million doses of vaccine in case it is needed to stop an outbreak of avian influenza this fall and winter.
The boom is over, as farmer income plunges for second consecutive year
Farmers and ranchers are pocketing billions of dollars less from sales of their crops and livestock while expenses continue to rise, the government said, forecasting a 26-percent drop in net cash farm income from its peak in 2013.
Fruit and veggie prices steady despite California drought
Americans will see negligible increases in the supermarket prices of fresh fruits and vegetables this year despite continued drought in California, the No. 1 state for produce, says the Food Price Outlook.
USDA allots more funding to curb runoff into Lake Erie
Farmers in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan are eligible for an additional $5 million in cost-share money for projects that will reduce nutrient runoff into western Lake Erie, said the USDA.
Crop scouts see slightly smaller fall harvest than the USDA forecasts
The corn and soybean crops will be slightly smaller than forecast by USDA, says Pro Farmer at the end of a week-long sampling of fields across the Midwest and northern Plains.
Consumer Reports: bacteria is common in ground beef
All 300 samples of raw ground beef examined by researchers from Consumer Reports magazine, whether from conventionally or sustainably raised cattle, "contained bacteria that signified fecal contamination."
First upturn in table-egg production since bird-flu epidemic
Table-egg production rose for the first time since the worst avian influenza ever in the United States swept the Midwest in the first half of this year.
Amid sorghum boom, export market refocuses and narrows
Sorghum growers are headed for their largest crop in 16 years, 573 million bushels, says the USDA in its Feed Outlook. The bumper crop is due to a 20-percent surge in plantings and record-high yields of 74.6 bushels an acre.
China’s cotton plantings plunge to record low
Cotton production is plummeting in China, the world's largest importer and consumer of the textile, says USDA.
Massive crops to pull down market prices for year ahead
Corn, soybean and wheat growers will see the lowest farm-gate prices for their crops in several years, says USDA in its first forecast of the fall harvest.
“Mother of organic” Merrigan at work on food policy
Kathleen Merrigan, who helped craft the organic food law in 1990 as a Senate staffer and implement it a decade later at USDA, "is an agricultural policy workhorse who calls the public policy arena her 'playground,'" says a profile story at Greenwire.