USDA
USDA to update protocols at animal research center
The Agriculture Department stopped all new research projects at its Meat Animal Research Center until new protocols are implemented in response to reports of the harsh treatment of animals at the facility in Nebraska, according to Feedstuffs.
Vilsack: Don’t use “flexibility” as guise to weaken school lunch
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned about weakening school food standards in the name of giving schools more leeway to satisfy requirements or to help them prune needless expenditures.
USDA to consider practices for organic hydroponics
The Department of Agriculture set a May 8 deadline for nominations to a task force that will "examine hydroponic and aquaponic practices and their alignment with the USDA organic regulations" and the underlying law.
If corn, soy plantings dip, look to the South and Plains
The long run of market prices that began in 2006 lured farmers to expand plantings of corn and soybeans by 20 million acres. Most of the increase came from the Plains states and the South, say economists John Newton and Todd Keuthe of U-Illinois.
Little gain if sugary drinks are banned from food stamps
Disqualifying sugary drinks, such as soda, from purchase under the food-stamp program would have little impact on consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, say USDA researchers.
Roberts plans “big-picture discussion” of school food rules
Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts says that, as part of reauthorizing school lunch and other child nutrition programs, he plans to "have a big-picture discussion on how to retain the great advancements that some schools have made, and to allow other districts to meet the challenges."
Lower-than-expected retail prices for pork and dairy
The government says pork prices will rise by only 2 percent this year -- half the increase forecast two months ago. Retail prices will be held down by a rising supply of meat, says the USDA. Hog prices set a record last year but are expected to fall by one-quarter this year; lower prices would be passed along to consumers. The USDA says there are signs of expansion in hog herds, which would mean more hogs going to slaughter within a few months.
Rail snarl may have cost upper Midwest growers $570 million
The rail-car snarl of last winter may have cost corn, wheat and soybean growers in the upper Midwest $570 million, or 3 percent of their cash receipts for the crops, says a USDA report. To calculate the figure, department economists looked at the impact of higher shipping costs and lower local grain prices in Montana, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, where shipping delays were the worst due to a harsh winter, a large volume of grain awaiting transport and competition for rail service by the oil-shale industry.
Organic dairy farms – high costs, high consumer demand
Consumer demand for organic milk continues to grow. Annual sales growth is "still in the high single digits," write USDA economists Catherine Greene and William McBride in Choices, the agricultural economics journal.
Senator would block salt, whole-grain rules for school lunch
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven says he will try to block the stricter salt and whole-grain requirements proposed for the school-lunch program. The senator's proposal is backed by the School Nutrition Association, whose members run the school-meals programs.
States, tribes will test ways to reduce rural child hunger
Five pilot projects will test ways to reduce child hunger in rural America, with approaches that range from home delivery of food to providing three school meals a day, says the Agriculture Department. The USDA awarded $27 million in grants for the demonstration projects in Virginia, Kentucky and Nevada, and the Chickasaw and Navajo nations, from money provided in the 2010 child-nutrition law.
Food stamp review “is the big deal,” says Conaway
Food stamps, the largest U.S. antihunger program, "lacks a clear mission," said chairwoman Jackie Walorski of the House Agriculture subcommittee on nutrition. In opening a hearing on characteristics of food-stamp recipients, the Indiana Republican said the program, which helps poor people buy food, "is not helping lift people out of poverty." She also complained of "many levels of bureaucracy" and overlapping federal, state and local programs.
USDA expects action soon on catfish inspection
Deputy of Agriculture Undersecretary Al Almanza told lawmakers the White House is likely to release in April a long-delayed regulation to put the USDA in charge of catfish inspection, says Agri-Pulse.
Senators unveil bill to repeal corn ethanol mandate
Portions of the Renewable Fuels Standard that effectively mandate the use of corn-based ethanol would be repealed under a bill introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Jeff Flake of Arizona.
House ag-funding leader opposes crop insurance cuts
The chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture said he opposes the administration proposal for a 17 percent cut in crop insurance funding.
House, Senate bills would triple farm-to-school program
Companion bills in the House and Senate would triple the funding, to $15 million a year, for the farm-to-school grant program, which buys locally grown fresh food to help feed schoolchildren.
Winners to be named soon for food-stamp job pilots
The Agriculture Department expects to name in March the winners of $200 million in grants to help food-stamp participants find jobs or move up the pay scale. The USDA has received proposals from more than 30 states for the 10 pilot projects.
A quarter of farmers make subsidy choice as deadline nears
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he would provide "flexibility" if needed to assure orderly handling of two important farm program deadlines. Growers have until Friday to tell the USDA whether they want to update two factors for calculating crop subsidies - average yields and acreage bases. And they have until March 31 to select either the insurance-like Agricultural Risk Coverage subsidy or the traditionally designed Price Loss Coverage subsidy.
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.