USDA Invests in Mississippi River Basin Water Quality

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Melissa

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its partners will invest nearly $32 million this year in financial and technical assistance for five water quality and wetlands improvement projects in seven Mississippi River Basin states. When fully implemented, the projects will prevent sediment and nutrients from entering waterways, decrease flooding and improve bird and fish habitat. NRCS estimates that this investment will restore 11,400 acres to wetland habitat.

Landowners interested in applying for funding should contact their local NRCS office. Signup dates may vary based on the individual project.

NRCS provides funding for these new projects through its Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program, part of the agency’s Wetlands Reserve Program. Since 2010, NRCS has formalized WREP agreements under MRBI with 47 landowners in the Mississippi River Basin, investing $17.8 million in long-term conservation easements and wetland restoration projects.

Note: Chuck will be covering the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) 2012 Conservation in Action Tour thanks to support from CTIC and AGROTAIN.

USDA Celebrates 150 Years Live

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Chuck

I’m a little late to the live webcast but right now USDA is celebrating 150 years of service. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, is commemorating the event with a variety of people on stage.

When President Abraham Lincoln founded the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862, he called it “the People’s Department,” a sentiment that still rings true today as the Department’s diverse portfolio boasts strong support for American agriculture and local and regional food systems, as well as critical nutrition assistance, food safety, conservation, rural development, and research programs, among many other programs and initiatives.

As the department commemorates 150 years of accomplishments, USDA is looking to the future. In the years to come, we will help address the changing needs of agriculture and rural America.

The continued work on food, agriculture, economic development, science, natural resource conservation and many other issues will ensure USDA still fulfills Lincoln’s vision – touching the lives of every American, every day.

As we promote innovation – both here at USDA and in the countryside – we will help create jobs and support economic growth, and promote healthy families and communities, and a stronger nation.

To watch the celebration live, please visit www.usda.gov/live. For more information on the 150th anniversary celebration, please visit www.usda.gov/usda150. Additional information on USDA’s work to strengthen the American economy can be found at www.usda.gov/results.

Top 5 Largest Agriculture Cooperatives in 2010

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Melissa

The nation’s 100 largest agriculture cooperatives reported near-record revenue of $118 billion in 2010, announced USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager. This was an increase of 4 percent over 2009 figures. Net income for the 100 top agriculture co-ops was also up more than 10 percent in 2010, reaching $2.39 billion, up from $2.16 billion in 2009.

Here are the cooperatives that hit the charts in the top 5:
CHS Inc., Saint Paul, Minn.
Land O’Lakes Inc., Saint Paul, Minn.
Dairy Farmers of America, Kansas City, Mo.
GROWMARK Inc., Bloomington, Ill.
Ag Processing Inc., Omaha, Neb.

Leading the revenue increase from 2009 to 2010 were dairy cooperatives, which saw 2010 revenue climb more than 14.5 percent from the previous year, to $29.5 billion. Dairy cooperatives accounted for more than half of the revenue increase recorded by the top 100 ag co-ops in 2010.

Click here for the complete listing or read more in the USDA Rural Cooperatives magazine.

USDA Confirms BSE Case

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Cindy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today confirmed the nation’s fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a dairy cow from central California.

“The carcass of the animal is being held under State authority at a rendering facility in California and will be destroyed. It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health. Additionally, milk does not transmit BSE,” said USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford. “Samples from the animal in question were tested at USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. Confirmatory results using immunohistochemistry and western blot tests confirmed the animal was positive for atypical BSE, a very rare form of the disease not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattle Health and Well-being Committee Chairman Tom Talbot noted that BSE is fast approaching eradication worldwide. “According to USDA, there were only 29 cases of BSE worldwide in 2011, which is a 99 percent reduction since the peak in 1992 of more than 37,300 cases,” he said. “We commend USDA and animal health experts for effectively identifying and eliminating the potential risks associated with BSE.”

“American beef and dairy products are safe,” stressed American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman. “The safeguards our government has in place to detect any incidence of this disease are clearly working. The report of a cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, discovered during the pre-rendering process, is proof that our detection system works.”

USDA officials remain confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of beef and dairy products and will “continue to communicate findings in a timely and transparent manner.”

National Ag Day Morning Coffee Break

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Chuck

The start to today’s National Ag Day Activities was coffee in the USDA Atrium. We’ll be back here for dinner this evening and to hear from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The Secretary has become a regular on AgWired lately.

This morning our program was moderated by Orion Samuelson and our speaker was Krysta Harden, USDA Chief of Staff. I saw Krysta recently when she received a special award from the National Biodiesel Board. Krysta welcomed us and talked about the work that the USDA does. It was an informational speech which I recorded for you to listen to. She brought us some interesting facts like having 50 USDA employees stationed in Afganistan working with farmers on conservation issues and that they’ve fed 3.9 million people with the SNAP program.

Listen to the remarks made by Krysta this morning here: Comments From Krysta Harden

2012 National Agriculture Day Activities Photo Album

Coverage of the 2012 National AgDay Activities is sponsored by the American Seed Trade Association

Ag Secretary Hits Right Notes at Classic in Nashville

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Cindy

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was interrupted by applause several times during his address at the 2012 Commodity Classic in Nashville Friday as he hit the right notes for corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum producers.

Someone in the crowd shouted “Amen” when Vilsack said, “This country also needs a new generation of farmers,” noting that something needs to be done about the estate tax, but also that there are barriers to people transferring land while they are still alive due to increasing land values.

Vilsack also got applause when he said, “As Congress works on this farm bill, the country needs them to have the political courage and spine to work on immigration reform and get that done and get it done now.”

When it comes to passing a farm bill, Vilsack said even though Congress thinks it’s a tough time to do it, “that’s not what America does. We don’t make excuses, we solve problems and we expect our leaders to do that.”

Before heading back to Washington for a White House conservation conference, Vilsack also announced the opportunity for producers to enroll a total of 1 million acres of land in a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) initiative to preserve grasslands and wetlands.

Vilsack will highlight the announcement later today at the Interior Department during the White House Growing America’s Outdoor Heritage and Economy conference, which emphasizes the link between conservation and strong local economies through tourism, outdoor recreation, and healthy lands, waters and wildlife.

Listen to or download Visack’s address here: Secretary Tom Vilsack at Commodity Classic

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland

Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Compass

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Chuck

I couldn’t participate in today’s USDA webinar about their latest project but did get this information to share.

Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan unveiled the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF) Compass, an interactive web-based document and map highlighting USDA support for local and regional food projects and successful producer, business and community case studies. While hosting a live webinar to highlight USDA’s work over the past three years, the Secretaries emphasized how local and regional food systems across the country create additional economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers and food entrepreneurs, expand healthy food access and meet growing customer demand.

“USDA works every day to strengthen American agriculture, drive job growth and support farm-family income,” said Vilsack. “The KYF Compass highlights how USDA support for local and regional food systems has brought additional opportunities to our country’s farmers, ranchers, processors, distributors and food entrepreneurs. The stories and maps in the Compass underscore how diverse and innovative American agriculture can be.”

The KYF Compass is a digital guide to USDA resources related to local and regional food systems. The Compass consists of an interactive U.S. map showing local and regional food projects and an accompanying narrative documenting the results of this work through case studies, photos and video content.

First USDA Planting Guess

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Cindy

Our ZimmPoll question this week is about what you think will be planted this year (just for corn and soybeans, with our apologies to the wheat and cotton growers), and USDA’s Chief Economist gave his answer at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum last week.

“We’re estimating corn plantings at about 94 million acres, the largest plantings since 1944,” said Joe Glauber at the forum. “We’re projecting soybean area at 75 million acres. That’s very similar to last year’s levels.” Last year, actual planted acres totaled 92.3 million for corn and 75.2 for soybeans, so if Glauber were voting in the ZimmPoll, his answer would be “more corn, less soybeans.”

USDA is also predicting wheat acres to increase 3.6 million acres to 58 million and cotton lower at 13 million acres.

This is just USDA’s guesstimate at this point. The planting intentions survey of farmers is being done now and results will be released at the end of March. What do you think the answer will be? Vote in the ZimmPoll and let us know!

Historic Gathering of Agriculture Secretaries

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Cindy

This is one Agricultural Outlook Forum I really wish I could have attended just to see most of the past and present Secretaries of Agriculture gathered on one stage together to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pictured here are the eight secretaries who took part in a panel at the forum last Thursday moderated by current Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Top row are Clayton Yeutter (1989-1991), Dan Glickman (1995-2001), Mike Espy (1993-1994), and John Block (1981-1986); bottom row are Senator Mike Johanns (2005-2008), Vilsack, Ann Veneman (2001-2005), and Ed Schafer (2008-2009). The only living agriculture secretary not present was Bob Bergland who served under Jimmy Carter from 1977-1981. But all were included in a USDA video shown at the event “Secretaries of Agriculture – 30 Leaders, 150 Years.”

“Nine Secretaries of Agriculture, representing 35 years of service, in one place at the same time was an incredible opportunity to learn about USDA’s contributions to the strength and health of this nation with an eye for the impact the department can have in the future,” said Vilsack. “As we reflect on the department’s 150 years, this historic gathering will help us guide how we transform USDA into a more modern and efficient service provider.”

Watch the USDA video below:

President Lincoln established USDA because he recognized the potential of America’s farmers and ranchers to provide a safe, ample food supply for our nation and the world. Throughout 2012, USDA will recognize important events, such as President Lincoln’s signing of an Act to establish the Department of Agriculture on May, 15, 1862 and the July signing of the Morrill Act to establish public land grant universities.

See more photos of Secretaries Day at the USDA on the agency’s Flickr photo album.

Here’s a couple of stories the USDA’s Rod Bain had on the newsline from the event:
Historic Gathering
Future of Agriculture

Sec. Vilsack Applauds Ethanol Producers

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Chuck

This morning Ag Secretary Vilsack spoke to the 2012 National Ethanol Conference. I’m sharing Cindy’s story that is also posted over on our sister site, Domestic Fuel:

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed his personal strong support and gratitude for the ethanol industry during an address at the National Ethanol Conference on Friday.

“We owe ethanol producers in this country a debt of gratitude because we’re paying less at the pump because of what you do,” Vilsack said, noting that prices are about $1 less than they would be without ethanol.

Vilsack also thanked ethanol producers for providing jobs, contributing to a record trade surplus in agriculture and helping to increase net farm income. “In 2011, net farm income for the first time exceeded $100 billion,” he said. “Even adjusted for inflation, this is the best farm economy we’ve seen in four decades and one of the principal reasons is because you all have figured out this new value-added opportunity called renewable fuels.”

Vilsack said he was pleased with the action taken by EPA to allow registration of E15. “If we’re worried about the Straits of Hormuz, if we’re worried about Iran, one way we can be less stressed about this is getting E15 in the tanks of cars across this country,” he said.

E15 is important to Secretary Vilsack, but so is maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard. “Make no mistake about this. Just because it’s in the law doesn’t mean it will always be in the law.” Vilsack says the success of the ethanol industry has gotten the attention of the oil industry which is trying to modify or eliminate the RFS. “We need to make sure we maintain the Renewable Fuel Standard. It is important to the security of this country that we move toward that 36 billion gallon mark.”

Listen to or download Vilsack’s speech here: Secretary Tom Vilsack at 2012 National Ethanol Conference

Cindy also did a very quick interview with the Secretary, asking about his outlook for the ethanol industry and the importance of maintaining the RFS. Listen to or download that interview here: Secretary Tom Vilsack interview

You can watch Secretary Vilsack’s speech here:

2012 National Ethanol Conference Photo Album

Time For 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Chuck

It’s that time again. The 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture is underway. The first step is the National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS) which asks landowners whether or not they are farming and for basic farm information. This is used to determine who should receive a 2012 Census of Agriculture report form. So, yeah, you’ve got to fill out two surveys. The census is conducted every five years.

“We are asking everyone who receives the NACS to respond even if they are not farming so that we build the most accurate and comprehensive mailing list to account for all of U.S. agriculture in the Census,” said NASS’s Census and Survey Director, Renee Picanso. “The Census is the leading source of facts about American agriculture and the only source of agricultural statistics that is comparable for each county in the nation. Farm organizations, businesses, government decision-makers, commodity market analysts, news media, researchers and others use Census data to inform their work.”

NACS is required by law as part of the U.S. Census of Agriculture. By this same law, all information reported by individuals is kept confidential. NASS will mail the 2012 Census of Agriculture later this year and data will be collected into early 2013.

The 2012 Census of Agriculture is your voice, your future, your responsibility. For more information about NACS, the Census of Agriculture, or to add your name to the Census mail list, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov.

You can follow USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service on Twitter here.

USDA to Mark 150th Anniversary at 2012 Outlook Forum

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Cindy

Eight former agriculture secretaries will help celebrate the 150th anniversary of USDA as they participate in a historic plenary panel at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, which will be held Feb. 23-24, 2012, in Arlington, Va.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will give the keynote address at the forum and moderate the panel which will feature any and all of the former living secretaries who are able to attend. They include (in reverse chronological order) Ed Schafer, Senator Mike Johanns, Ann Veneman, Dan Glickman, Mike Espy, Clayton Yeutter, John Block, and Bob Bergland.

In addition to the traditional USDA commodity supply and demand and food price outlooks, the forum will also feature 25 breakout sessions with more than 80 speakers that will focus on a broad range of topical issues, including: global food security; foreign trade, financial markets, and economic development; conservation; energy; climate change; food safety; food hubs; extension programs; and next generation farmers. USDA has hosted the Agricultural Outlook Forum since 1923.

Registration for the forum is still available for a cost of $425. Plenary speeches will be Webcast after 6 p.m. EST on Feb. 23, and breakout session speeches and PowerPoint presentations will be posted online after 6 p.m. Feb. 24.

National FFA Meets With Secretary of Agriculture

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Chuck

I have a concern about this announcement from the FFA.

With more than 100,000 new farmers needed over the next few years, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack issued the young leaders of the National FFA Organization a challenge in 2011. “I would like you to with your fellow students and the adult leadership of the organization to develop a series of recommendations around the upcoming Farm Bill that will encourage more young people to pursue careers in farming,” Vilsack said.

It was a challenge that the national FFA officer team for 2010-11 took seriously. The students immediately began work- framing key questions, consulting FFA members, engaging leaders in agriculture, compiling input and formulating recommendations.

Okay. On the surface it looks and sounds nice that the government wants to do something to encourage youth in agriculture. We certainly do! But . . . Here’s more from FFA. I’ve highlighted section that immediately drew my attention and comment below.

“Never before had we been invited to submit direct input to the Secretary of Agriculture that could enhance the ability of agricultural education and FFA to help students succeed and strengthen American agriculture,” said Riley Pagett, national FFA President, 2010-11. “We were honored to be invited to be a part of this process.”

In December 2011, the 2010-11 national officer team met with Sec. Vilsack to share their recommendations which fell under four main categories. Those are: Getting started in production agriculture; creating vibrant rural communities; who should care about agriculture and why; planning for the future.

Items that were recommended were as follows: USDA and other agencies should encourage and assist beginning farmers to start or continue in production agriculture; USDA should help transition farms from older related and non-related farmers to younger of beginner farmers who may not come from a farm; USDA should help keep young people in rural communities and make rural communities an even more important part of our nation’s economy and society; USDA should support efforts to increase the public’s knowledge of agricultural literacy; USDA should strengthen the capacity of agricultural education o produce more students that pursue production agriculture and other agriculturally related careers and the USDA should provide authority, responsibility and support for school-based agricultural education and FFA.

So, FFA student leaders, everything you mention here is all asking USDA to do something for you. As in “USDA should . . . ” Where’s the money for that going to come from? Are you sure you want more involvement fromt he government in your business or potential business? I think it’s great that the Secretary invited you in but I’d urge caution before you ask for too much, if anything. I think you’d be better off talking with agribusiness leadership about stand alone private practice programs to help you get established in farming or make transitions on your farm. These things are being done. I think most agribusiness companies would be quite willing to talk with you about that. Then maybe we wouldn’t need the government to “take care of us.” What do you think?

Vilsack Announces USDA Streamlining at AFBF Meeting

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Cindy

afbf annual hawaii Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack revealed a plan for streamlining operations and cutting costs at USDA during an address to the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting on Monday.

“The USDA, like families and businesses across the country, cannot continue to operate like we did 50 years ago,” said Vilsack. “We must innovate, modernize, and be better stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars. We must build on the record accomplishments of farm communities in 2011 with a stronger, more effective USDA in 2012 and beyond.”

Part of the plan includes closing 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs across the country, as well as seven foreign offices and consolidating over 130 county Farm Service Agency offices in 32 states. “Of the 131 offices on the list, 35 currently have no employees,” Vilsack said. “Let that sink in for a second.”

A map and list of impacted offices can be found here.

The Secretary outlined other budget cutting measures for USDA, such as consolidating more than 700 cell phone plans into about ten.

Listen to or download Vilsack’s entire comments to AFBF annual meeting here: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack at AFBF annual meeting

Listen to or download Vilsack’s press conference at AFBF here: Vilsack Press Conference

AFBF 93rd Annual Meeting Photos

Farm Program Atlas

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Chuck

The USDA Economic Research Service has a Farm Program Atlas online for your searching pleasure.

The Farm Program Atlas is a web-based interactive mapping tool that displays payment and participation data on major farm programs and covered commodities at the county level — to visualize how these Federal farm programs vary across the United States. Users can select maps displaying county-level data for nearly 100 variables. Each map may be viewed for the entire country or users can use a zoom tool to focus on a single region, State, or county. When viewing a program map, users may also click on a single county to view a table of data on all the variables associated with the program for that particular county.

With these tools, users can:

View maps showing levels of participation and benefits from key farm programs

View maps comparing participation and benefits from selected programs

View all data for any county on a selected farm program

Print a version of the map or save the image in a graphics-file format for use in other documents or presentations

Download a spreadsheet containing all the data for a selected county or for all U.S. counties included in the Atlas

Secretary Vilsack Visits NAFB

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Cindy

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack once again paid a visit to the nation’s farm broadcasters at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting in Kansas City where he commmented on a number of issues important to farmers and ranchers.

The secretary led with USDA’s announcement today on record growth of U.S. agricultural exports in 2011. “I’m pleased to report that we reached a record amount of $137.4 billion of agricultural exports,” Vilsack said. “This is $22.5 billion higher than the export number last year and testimony to the extraordinary productivity, quality and affordability of what American farmers and ranchers are producing, growing and raising.” He noted that agriculture supports 1.15 million jobs in the economy – 1 out of every 12 jobs in the country are connected to agriculture.

Other topics Vilsack addressed included trade, government regulation, rural development, Farm Bill, cutting the deficit, GIPSA and more.

Listen to or download the secretary’s comments here: Tom Vilsack at NAFB

2011 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of the NAMA Trends in Agriculture & NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF

What Affects Fall Leaf Color

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Chuck

I think the fall colors are fading here in mid Missouri. We have had some real contrasts this year and it seemed to me like the trees turned color in a couple of waves instead of all at once. Here’s our maple tree when it was in full color.

So, have you wondered about the science behind leaf changing? Then read about it on the USDA Blog.

Daylength (or more correctly, the length of nights) is the real cause of trees’ transition to autumn colors. (Read more here about how longer nights translate into the vibrant color of autumn.)

So what role does frost play in the changing color of autumn leaves? Frost actually ruins vivid fall colors by causing cells in the leaf to rupture and die.

The appearance of fall colors shifts each year due to weather. Heavy cloud cover limits ultraviolet light, so the chlorophyll lasts longer, and leaves stay green longer. High night temperatures cause cells to burn accumulated sugars, so less red and purple pigments are formed and yellow and orange are the predominant colors. Drought stress or a windy interlude cause leaves to drop prematurely.

The ideal conditions are warm, sunny days and cool nights with little wind or drought stress.

Vilsack Talks Farm Bill at John Deere

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Cindy

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack chose the John Deere Des Moines Works facility to talk about his priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill, which he says is really a misnomer.

“After all, for decades this bill has been about a whole lot more than just farming. It’s been about energy, it’s been about nutrition, it’s been about jobs. Now, some may keep calling it the Farm Bill out of convenience, or maybe even out of tradition; but I think we’re doing it a disservice,” Vilsack said.

The secretary acknowledged that fiscal and political realities will have an impact on the outcome for any legislation in the coming year. “So our priorities must be clear. We simply need to do more with less,” he said.

Read the secretary’s speech here.

USDA-NASS Proposes Program Changes

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Cindy

It would be nice to see all government agencies take a look at some programs that might be able to be cut to save tax dollars, like USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has done.

In light of funding reductions in fiscal year (FY) 2011 and the likelihood of additional reductions in FY 2012, NASS conducted deliberate reviews of all programs against mission- and user-based criteria, aimed at finding cost savings and forward-thinking business efficiencies so that key timely, accurate and useful data remains available in service to agriculture. As a result, the agency is discontinuing or reducing a wide range of agricultural survey programs. The decision to eliminate or reduce these reports was not made lightly, but it was nevertheless necessary, given the funding situation. Because of the timing of the agency’s survey work during the coming year, these decisions are necessary now.

Reports which will be eliminated include Annual Reports on Farm Numbers, Land in Farms and Livestock Operations; Catfish and Trout Reports; Annual Floriculture Report; January Sheep and Goat Report; July Cattle Report; Annual Bee and Honey Report; Annual Hops Production report; Annual Mink report (didn’t even know we had one!); Nursery report; June and September Rice stocks report. Other reports – including chemical use, monthly potato stocks and fruit and vegetable forecasts – will be reduced in frequency. The Distiller Co-Products for Feed Survey would be canceled.

NASS plans to make similar data included in these reports either less frequently or within the every 5-year Census of Agriculture. The next census will be conducted beginning January 2013 to reflect activities in the 2012 calendar year. A Federal Register notice announcing the program changes will be forthcoming.

Some people will no doubt be unhappy with the proposed changes, but it certainly seems like most of these reports can easily be eliminated or reduced without too much angst. I bet with a little effort, even more could be cut.