USDA
Few takers for Conservation Reserve opt-out offer
Landowners removed a comparatively small 90,000 acres from the long-term Conservation Reserve under an "opt out" provision written into the 2014 farm law just as commodity prices slumped. The withdrawn land is one-third of 1 percent of total enrollment in the reserve, according to USDA data. "The preliminary estimate is that 90,000 acres were withdrawn," says the department in its most recent report on the reserve.
“Significant” risk of new wave of bird flu in fall or spring
A second wave of the devastating avian influenza could appear this fall or next spring, the chief USDA veterinarian told senators, adding, "We will be ready for that challenge."
Retail egg prices up 6 percent in a week
Egg prices in the supermarket are up 6 percent this week, resuming a climb that began on May 22 but took a brief dip in late June, says the USDA's National Retail Report.
The $1 billion elephant in Iowa’s caucus rooms
Iowa gets the first word on presidential nominees through its precinct caucuses, scheduled for Feb. 1, so the Hawkeye State is awash with candidates who are trying to build a bond with voters. "Yet for all their love for everyday Iowans, none of the candidates is getting anywhere near the biggest crisis to hit the state in years - one of the worst animal health emergencies in U.S. history," says Politico Magazine.
AMIS sees bigger corn crop and stocks worldwide
The Agricultural Market Information System, an international body, said it raised its forecast of this season's corn crop worldwide "significantly, mostly on improved outlook for crops in the EU and the United States." AMIS pegged the crop at 1,001 million tonnes, up 13 million tonnes from a month ago, and said end stocks for 2014/15 would rise by 27 million tonnes.
Supreme Court says raisin-market program is unfair to grower
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the raisin-marketing program unconstitutionally blocked a California grower from selling his crops, and said he should be compensated for the governmental seizure of his property.
USDA has role at US-China trade meeting
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden will take part in the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing this week, says USDA. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew are leaders of the U.S. delegation for meetings Wednesday and Thursday on "the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas," said a State Department official quoted by AFP.
11 percent of egg-laying hens dead in two months from bird flu
U.S. egg farmers lost 11 percent of their laying hens in two months, the government said - the latest impact of the worst avian influenza epidemic to ever hit the poultry industry.
Obama signs law easing rules on inspection of foreign cotton
President Obama signed into law HR 2620, which backers say will encourage development of new types of cotton futures contracts that help growers hedge their risks.
House panel approves bill for new types of cotton futures
The House Agriculture Committee approved a bill intended to make it easier to develop new cotton futures contracts. The law now requires all cotton tendered under a futures contract listed in the United States to be sampled and graded by the USDA.
Startlingly high US corn and soybean yields possible
With continued good weather, U.S. corn and soybean crops could be well above the records now projected for this year, says economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University. "The current crop conditions report suggests that yields are likely to be above trend line," Zulauf writes after citing four methods to estimate the potential yields.
White House begins update of food and ag biotech regulation
The administration launched an update of its multi-agency system of regulating food and agricultural biotechnology with a goal of writing the new version of its "coordinated framework" by July 2016.
Groups urge USDA to set tighter rules for GMO crops
Three-dozen consumer groups and businesses asked the USDA to tighten its regulation of crops containing genetically modified organisms as part of an overhaul of its regulatory system, said Reuters.
Wet spring expected to trim size of corn and soybean harvest
The rainy spring that snarled soybean planting and flooded corn fields will trim slightly the size of this year's corn and soybean crops, according to traders who were polled ahead of projections to be released by the USDA today.
In bird-flu boomerang, chicken to cost less
The avian influenza epidemic hit egg-laying poultry flocks and spared the growers who produce broiler chickens used for meat. But many nations restricted or altogether banned U.S. poultry products because of the flu. The result is a rapidly increasing supply of chicken, says the monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. And when supplies go up, prices come down.
Bird-flu results: Fewer eggs and a 25-percent price increase
Egg prices will run an average 25 percent higher this year than expected two months ago - and at record high prices - because of the worst avian influenza epidemic ever to hit U.S. poultry farms, says the government. In its monthly WASDE report, the USDA estimated that the bird flu, which has affected 47.1 million fowl, would reduce egg production by 5 percent this year and by 4.5 percent in 2016.
Fewer cattle in feedlots will keep beef supply tight
Cattle producers are keeping their stock on pasture, a signal that beef supplies will remain tight this year.
USDA revamps supplemental food program
USDA published a final rule, effective in 30 days, in the Federal Register to "phase out the participation of women, infants, and children in CSFP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program) and transition it to a low-income, elderly-only program," as required by the 2014 farm policy law. Women and children will be served by WIC in coming years. A small portion of CSFP enrollment is women and children. They will remain in the program until the children exceed the age of eligibility.
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.