NCBA Concerns About Beef Checkoff

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met earlier this week with the Beef Checkoff working group and reportedly told them he’s planning on implementing a new checkoff program for the industry by January, 2016. The action would be taken under the 1996 Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act, also called the “generic checkoff act,” and would be separate from and in addition …

AFBF, Audio, Beef, NCBA, USDA

USDA Invests in Specialty Crop Producers

Leah Guffey

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack while in Miami, Florida announced nearly $118 million in grants to strengthen markets for specialty crops, such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery crops. The grants were authorized through the 2014 Farm Bill as part of an effort to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and provide resources to strengthen American agriculture. Sales of …

Audio, specialty crops, USDA

Cooperatives Set Another Record

Cindy Zimmerman

October is National Cooperative Month and once again the nation’s agricultural cooperatives set a new sales record for 2013. According to USDA, total business volume in 2013 surpassed $246 billion, exceeding the 2012 record by $8 billion or four percent. This is the third consecutive year of record sales by ag cooperatives, reflecting increased sales in the overall farm economy …

Cooperatives, USDA

Corn Stocks Up, Soybeans Down

Cindy Zimmerman

There’s more corn in the bins than there was a year ago at this time. USDA’s newest Grain Stocks report shows 1.24 billion bushels of old crop corn in all positions as of September 1, up 50 percent from the same time last year. The report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) found less soybean stocks than a year …

Audio, Corn, Soybean, USDA, Wheat

USDA Unveils New Risk Management Programs

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today unveiled the new programs included in the 2014 Farm Bill to help farmers better manage risk. The new programs, Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), represent the end of direct payments by offering farmers protection when market forces cause substantial drops in crop prices and/or revenues. Producers will have through early spring …

Audio, USDA

USDA Deregulates ENLIST Crops

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA has issued a decision to deregulate Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist™ 2,4-D and glyphosate-resistant corn and soybean traits in the United States. “Gaining approval for this important technology has been a long, hard fought battle,” said National Corn Growers Association Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Jim Zimmerman of Wisconsin. “It is important that farmers continue to gain access to …

Agribusiness, Biotech, Corn, Soybean, USDA

USDA Offers Aid to Replant Florida Citrus

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA is offering new financial assistance to eligible Florida citrus growers for the removal of trees afflicted with Huanglongbing (HLB), better known as citrus greening, and for replanting groves with new healthy stock. The support comes through USDA’s Tree Assistance Program. Making the announcement today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this action is to help growers as USDA continues to …

Audio, Citrus, USDA

Conservation Innovation Grants Announced

Leah Guffey

During a visit to a farm in Moline, Illinois Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award of $15.7 million in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIGs) to 47 organizations that will help develop and demonstrate cutting-edge ideas to accelerate innovation in private lands conservation, funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Almost half of the grants announced support the agency’s …

Audio, Conservation, USDA

Big Crops Getting Bigger

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA has increased its estimate of both the corn and soybean crops this month, building on already forecast record highs. Corn production is forecast at 14.4 billion bushels, up 3 percent from both the August forecast and from 2013. Based on conditions as of September 1, yields are expected to average 171.7 bushels per acre, up 4.3 bushels from the …

Audio, Corn, NCGA, USDA

USDA Announces Conservation Program Success

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday that $328 million in conservation funding is being invested to help landowners protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands across the nation. The funding is provided through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which was created in the 2014 Farm Bill to protect critical wetlands and encourage producers to keep lands in farming …

Audio, Conservation, USDA