USDA
World coffee crop falls for second year in a row
Global coffee production is forecast for 149.8 million bags weighing 60 kg apiece, down for the second year in a row, says USDA in its semi-annual Coffee: World Markets and Trade report.
Conaway’s team of aides to take top House Ag jobs
Incoming chairman Mike Conaway said he will install three of his top aides as the key staff members of the House Agriculture Committee.
Beef prices, already at record highs, to rise more in 2015
Grocery store prices for beef are at record highs and the government says they will rise again in the new year, although not as sharply as this year.
USDA allots funds for advanced biofuel and Farm to School
A combined $9.6 million will go into grants to support production of advanced biofuels and the bio-economy, said the Agriculture Department. The largest block of money, $5.6 million, was divided among...
USDA drops idea of new, separate beef checkoff
USDA won't proceed with its proposal for a new and separate beef checkoff program, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in DTN interview, acceding to congressional opposition.
USDA apportions $200 million for ag export promotion
The Agriculture Department distributed $200 million in cost-sharing funds to 84 organizations to promote U.S. farm exports and to build markets for the products overseas.
GM unit buys 40,000 tons of carbon credits from ranch lands
The Chevrolet division of General Motors purchased credits for a 40,000 ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from ranchland in the "prairie pothole" region of North Dakota.
Plunge in farm income is steeper than expected
U.S. net farm income will plummet by 21 percent this year, the government forecast, a much steeper drop than its August estimate of 14 percent points.
Petition drive is launched for national food policy
Along with an essay in the Washington Post, backers of a national food policy are running a petition campaign on the Internet that calls on President Barack Obama to issue an executive order spelling out a policy. The Union of Concerned Scientists, host of a petition site, says a national policy "will transform our food system to ensure healthy, sustainably grown food for all."
Food stamp list stabilizes at 46.5 million people
Food stamp enrollment totaled 46.5 million people, or nearly one in seven Americans, for three months in a row, say USDA data. That's down by 1.2 million recipients, or 2.5 percent, from a year ago.
The story of turkeys – fewer birds, heavier weights
U.S. farmers are forecast to produce 235 million turkeys this year, down 2 percent from last year and down 14 percent since 2008, a peak year, say USDA reports. Turkeys weigh more apiece although there are fewer of them.
Beekeepers to get more than half of $40 million disaster aid
Honeybee keepers will receive more than half of $40 million earmarked for the Emergency Assistance to Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), said USDA.
AGree calls for conservation, nutrition and food aid reforms
The AGree project, a multiyear endeavor to reach consensus among food and farm leaders, released a package of four papers that call for substantial remodeling of U.S. conservation, public nutrition and food aid programs as well as comprehensive immigration reform.
“It was difficult, but that’s the life of an immigrant”
Migrant worker Veronica Jarmillo starts work at 7 a.m., picking apples during the two-month harvest season in Missouri, says Harvest Public Media in a story about farm laborers and their vital role in agriculture.
US corn crop is slightly smaller, average price slightly higher
The Agriculture Department lowered its estimates of the corn and wheat crops marginally and raised its estimate of the soybean crop by 1 percent in its monthly crop report.
USDA has 100 undercover agents looking for fraud, abuse
At the Agriculture Department, "more than 100 undercover agents pose as food stamp recipients at thousands of neighborhood stores to spot suspicious vendors and fraud," says the New York Times in a story about a significant expansion throughout the government of undercover work.
US organic food standards on the menu for debate
USDA's organic food label, the gold standard for shopper wanting food free of genetically modified organisms and chemical pesticides, "has come under increasing attack as a handful of consumer groups question the USDA’s handling of the National Organic Standards Board," says Roll Call.
Senate confirms Mensah to run USDA rural development wing
The Senate confirmed Lisa Mensah as agriculture undersecretary for rural development. Mensah was among a dozen administration nominees confirmed on a voice vote on Thursday afternoon.
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.