USDA

Russian President Putin says his country should retaliate against economic sanctions imposed by the West in the crisis over Ukraine, steps that could affect...

During a speech to the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, President Obama summarized $33 billion in new investment in the continent and said stable societies with forward-looking governments would be the foundation for economic growth.

India surpassed the United States as the second-largest cotton producer eight years ago and now is on the heels of China as the world leader, says USDA.

With 8,268 listings in the National Farmers Markets Directory, USDA is creating three new directories for local food marketing. The new catalogs will cover Community Supported Agriculture projects, food hubs and...

U.S. farmers will harvest the first 14-billion-bushel corn crop this fall, breaking the record for corn production by half-a-billion bushels, say estimates from two major companies according to Reuters.

USDA set a 35-day public comment period on how to comply with an appellate court decision for release of records showing a retailer's food stamp sales.

The government revamped its poultry inspection system so USDA inspectors devote more time to preventing pathogen contamination of meat while processors have more responsibliity for finding quality defects.

Bumper crops around the world mean that a dramatic expansion of corn and soybean stockpiles is on the way, says the International Grains Council.

The Agriculture Department released a report that, "for the first time, provides uniform scientific methods for quantifying the changes in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage from various land management and conservation activities."

There's buzz about the Corn Belt moving northward into Canada's prairie provinces. Top Producer magazine says, "Leading the charge are Manitoba, where corn acreage has doubled to 380,000 in just two years, and Alberta, which grows almost 25,000 acres of corn."

The Supplemental Coverage Option, created by the 2014 farm law as a cushion against low prices and poor yields, will be offered on eight widely planted crops for harvest next year, said the Agriculture Department. SCO will be available for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, spring barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat in many areas.

A U.S. appeals court upheld USDA rules that require cuts of beef, pork and poultry to carry labels listing where the meat was born, raised and slaughtered, says the AP. Meatpackers challenged the 2013 regulation as a violation of free speech. The meat industry says the labels are bookkeeping headache and drive up costs.

The Agriculture Department proposed a regulation to allow import of pork and pork products from "a low-risk classical swine fever region in Mexico" and set a 60-day comment period on it. Swine fever, also called hog cholera, is a highly contagious viral disease among pig but does not cause foodborne illness among humans. It was eradicated in the United States in 1978, says a USDA fact sheet

Analysts expect record U.S. corn and soybean yields this fall that will be 3.5 percent higher than the marks set five years ago, according to a straw poll by Reuters. On average, the 20 analysts pegged the corn yield at 170.5 bushels an acre and soybeans at 45.6 bushels an acre, compared to the record 164.7 for corn and 44.0 for soybeans. The analysts figures are higher than USDA's projections of record-setting crops. USDA will make its first field-based estimate of the crops on Aug 12.

The administration launched the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, which was mandated by the 2014 farm policy law and endowed by Congress with $200 million. The foundation must find private matching funds for projects that it funds.

It may be months before USDA publishes a regulation but it is reminding farmers that the new farm policy law links so-called conservation compliance with eligibility for a discount on crop insurance. Operators have until next June 1 to file the paperwork, form AD-1026, the Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification.

Record beef and pork prices are pulling up the prices of seafood as consumers look for lower-priced protein, says the government in an update of the food price outlook. Overall, food prices are forecast to rise by 3 percent this year, roughly in line with the annual average of 2.8 percent since 1990. The Agriculture Department says pork prices are up by 12 percent since mid-2013 and it expects an increase of 6 percent for this calendar year.

The hard red spring wheat tour of North Dakota concluded with a forecast of an average yield of 48 bushels an acre, a record high, said DTN. "Overall, scouts saw a wheat crop with record yield potential and little disease or pest pressure," said DTN. It said the crop was maturing later than usual. A cold and rainy spring delayed planting for weeks in the upper Midwest and northern Plains.