USDA
Vilsack indicates he’ll color inside the lines on dietary guide
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack indicated during an interview that he will not consider environmental sustainability during an overhaul of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, said the Wall Street Journal.
Farmers’ planting plans point to No. 2 soy, No. 3 corn crops
U.S. farmers intend to sow a record amount of land to soybeans and pare back on corn planting this spring, the government said in a report that puts the second-largest soybean crop ever and the third-largest corn crop on the horizon. Mammoth crops would mean at least one more year of comparatively low commodity prices after the price peaks of 2012. Abundant supplies would help hold down food price inflation.
People shop around for groceries, even when they walk
Overwhelmingly, Americans drive to the grocery store and they usually don't go to the store nearest to their homes, even if they have to walk, take a bus or get a ride with someone else, says a USDA study.
Bird flu confirmed on northwestern Arkansas turkey farm
The first case of H5N2 avian influenza in the U.S. South this year was confirmed on a turkey farm in northwestern Arkansas. A flock of 40,020 turkeys in Boone County, about 140 miles north-northwest of Little Rock, was hit.
EU overtakes U.S. as top global exporter of wheat
The European Union will be the world's largest wheat exporter this year, and by a wide margin, says the USDA report Grain: World Markets and Trade.
Longer comment period set for Dietary Guidelines
The government will allow an additional 30 days for comment on the report by a panel of experts on how to revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The report has drawn criticism because it says environmental sustainability should be taken into account in recommending a healthy diet. Farm groups, especially from the meat industry, say the report is wrong to say people should eat less meat.
Record low snowpack in Cascades, Sierra Nevada, says USDA
Snowpack in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada shrank during warm February weather, said the USDA in its third forecast of snow and water conditions in the West.
Family farms – 97 percent of US total, 84 percent of sales
U.S. agriculture is dominated by family-owned farms, said the USDA in its "five facts to know about family farms." The 2012 Census of Agriculture found 97 percent of the 2.1 million farms in the country are family farms, and...
Drought cuts South Africa corn crop by a quarter from 2014
Drought will limit South Africa's corn crop to 11.5 million tonnes, nearly one-quarter less than last year's harvest, the USDA says in its monthly WASDE report. "February dryness and periodic heat, particularly in the western and central growing regions," disrupted pollination and slashed the likely yield, according to the report. South Africa is an important regional supplier and often acts as an indicator of prospects in the southern part of the continent.
Small impact on red meat from bird flu export bans
Export restrictions on U.S. poultry, imposed because of outbreaks of avian influenza, are not likely to have a significant impact on the beef sector, said USDA chief economist Robert Johannson. "At this point, it doesn't appear to be an issue." A couple of dozen countries have imposed full or partial bans on U.S. poultry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told senators the bans affect roughly 15 percent of poultry exports and that the USDA was to keep shipments moving.
Food-stamp enrollment is lowest in seven months
Some 46.25 million people received food stamps in the latest count, the lowest figure in seven months, said USDA. Enrollment in December 2014, the most recent month available, was 11,000 lower than the month before.
Groups want more USDA attention on water quality, wildlife
A rare coalition of grain processors, conservationists and clean-water groups asked the Agriculture Department to dedicate one-third of the Conservation Reserve to buffer strips, windbreaks and other practices that protect water quality and wildlife habitat.
Soybean inventory expected to tighten slightly
Traders expect the USDA to lower by 2 percent its forecast of the U.S. soybean stockpile today in its monthly WASDE report. At the moment, supplies are projected to be the largest in eight years, at 385 million bushels, the result of a record-setting harvest last fall.
More signs that producers are rebuilding cattle herds
Ranchers and feeders are sending fewer beef heifers to slaughter, "likely a result of producers retaining some extra heifers for breeding purposes," said the USDA's Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report, citing "further signs of cow-herd rebuilding."
Limited value from antibiotics to boost livestock growth
The advantage of using antibiotics as a growth promotant in food animals has shrunk to a tiny margin, say two Princeton University researchers who surveyed recent papers on performance in hogs and poultry. From 1950 through 1985, studies showed decidedly higher daily weight gain with sub-therapeutic use of antimicrobials, from 4 percent in slaughter hogs to 16 percent in "starter" pigs.
USDA modifies NAP to reach more specialty-crop growers
The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), which protects commodities not covered by crop insurance, is being modified to increase access for beginning, limited-resource and other producers who do not have risk protection from...
USDA expands “Team Up” program for school meals
The USDA announced a nationwide expansion of its "Team Up for School Nutrition Success Initiative" to provide additional help to school districts to meet food requirements.
Obama selects McBride to lead Rural Utilities Services
President Obama selected Brandon McBride, a Senate Agriculture Committee staff worker, to serve as administrator of USDA's Rural Utilities Services, the White House announced.
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.