Despite a wet spring causing a challenging start to the season, the 2013 corn crop is still looking to break new ground this year, according to the latest USDA production estimate out today. Corn production is forecast at 13.8 billion bushels, up 28 percent from 2012. If realized, this will be a new record production for the United States. Based …
Historical Ag Data Online
If you want to amaze friend and family or just have some stimulating cocktail party icebreakers, check out the fun facts you can find in 77 years of historical data now available online from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Here are a few examples: U.S. egg exports skyrocketed from 5 million dozen in 1940 to 153 million dozen in …
Senate Ag Committee Approves USDA Nominees
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee this week unanimously approved the nominations of Krysta Harden to serve as deputy secretary of agriculture and Robert Bonnie to serve as under secretary for natural resources and the environment. Harden has been nominated to succeed Kathleen Merrigan in the second-highest post at USDA Bonnie, while Bonnie, who has been a senior advisor …
Jason Weller Appointed Chief of NRCS
Congratulations to Jason Weller on his appointment as Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service where he has served as acting chief the last eight months. Jason is pictured at the recent CTIC Conservation in Action Tour. Here are some notes from the notice about his appointment. As Acting Chief, Jason has moved swiftly to transform NRCS’s Administrative Functions; support …
Vilsack Questions House Farm Bill
At the Iowa Farm Bureau 2013 Economic Summit on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed some skepticism about the farm-only farm bill passed by the House. “I’m not sure that what they’ve done up to this point is real or for show,” Vilsack told reporters after addressing the summit. He also wonders why the House leadership is delaying work on …
Surprising Acreage Report from USDA
Despite the challenging planting conditions this spring USDA is saying that farmers have planted even more corn than last year and the most acres in 77 years, according to Friday’s Acreage report. Corn planted area for all purposes in 2013 is estimated at 97.4 million acres, up slightly from last year. This represents the highest planted acreage in the United …
Immigration Policy Forum in Kansas City
With the Senate poised to vote on comprehensive immigration reform this week, USDA held a forum on the issue Friday in Kansas City, featuring Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, former Kansas City mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, and representatives of the nation’s dairy industry. “We are blessed by the most productive, most innovative and most hard-working farmers and ranchers,” Vilsack …
Harvest is Plenty, Ag Laborers are Few
It was over 2,000 years ago that Jesus said “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” and that is apparently very true today in the agribusiness world. “Here in the United States, just in the next five years based on surveys that we’ve done, we know we’re going to have about 60,000 jobs available in the agribusiness enterprise …
USDA’s Alonzo Updates WPX on Key Issues
Anne Alonzo is attending her first World Pork Expo since taking the helm as the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Administrator just over a month ago. During her comments this morning, she said that the USDA is very supportive of the efforts of the pork industry and will continue to work with them on key issues. There were several items …
Reaction to COOL Decision
USDA has issued the final rule for mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), including an amendment to the regulations for muscle cut covered commodities derived from animals slaughtered in the United States. The decision pleased some livestock organizations, but disappointed others. “We are deeply disappointed with this short-sighted action by the USDA,”said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Scott George. …