With just days before a new administration takes office, the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday issued a mixed bag of last minute proposals for biofuels producers. First, in Friday’s Federal Register, EPA proposed to extend compliance deadlines for 2019 and 2020 renewable volume obligations, stating that the agency would “take no position on the availability of SREs for the 2019 …
USDA Offers Additional CFAP Aid for Some Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide additional assistance through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), expanding eligibility for some agricultural producers and commodities as well as updating payments to accurately compensate some producers who already applied for the program. Among the announced updates: Contract producers of swine, broilers, laying hens, chicken eggs and turkeys who suffered a drop …
Biodiesel Conference Goes Virtual Next Week
The virtual 2021 National Biodiesel Conference & Expo officially launches next Tuesday, January 19th, with a full agenda on-line to allow participation from anywhere. The theme of this year’s conference is “Rise” and National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Chief Operating Officer Doug Whitehead says it reflects the resilience of the industry. “We’re rising up to meet the challenges of yesterday, today, …
Traction Launches New Accounting Solution For Farmers
Traction™ announced today the launch of a new cloud-based farm accounting application. This first release gives farmers an easy way to manage their day-to-day cash accounting transactions from any connected device including phones and tablets. Until now, farmers have had to choose between non-farm specific applications or legacy desktop software to manage financial information and overall farm profitability. The challenge …
Agri-Pulse Plans 2021 Ag & Food Policy Summit
After the 2020 Agri-Pulse Summit was rescheduled several times and ultimately went virtual, the 2021 event is already planned to be a virtual event The 2021 Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit will feature three half-day sessions, March 22-24, with the theme: “Climate Risks, Rewards and Uncertainties.” “President-elect Joe Biden made action on climate change a key part of his …
Partnership Aims to Standardize Cotton Research Data
Cotton Incorporated recently joined forces with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Partnerships for Data Innovations (PDI) on an effort to standardize and centralize cotton research data. At last week’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences, Cotton Incorporated Senior Director of Agricultural & Environmental Research Ed Barnes said the project actually grew out of discussions at last year’s Beltwide and it is really just …
EPA Announces Sustainable Pest Control Initiative
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler was in Mississippi on Monday where he announced a $2 million dollar initiative that encourages smart and sustainable pest control in agriculture. The initiative, which is an extension of EPA’s Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), expects to award grantees up to $200,000 to implement sustainable pest management practices that align with the …
Former NAFB President Art Sechrest Passes
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting sadly notes the passing of 1984 NAFB President Art Sechrest. Sechrest joined NAFB at WVLN Radio in 1961 then continued his broadcast career at Illinois Farm Bureau and WJBC Radio. Art was noted for his professionalism, kindness, and solid presence reporting on the air. He served as NAFB President in 1984, was named 1991 …
Cotton Council CEO Wraps up Beltwide
National Cotton Council President and CEO Dr. Gary Adams is pleased with the first ever virtual Beltwide Cotton Conferences this week. “Attendance was really quite strong,” said Adams in a wrap up interview. “Hopefully, we actually provided an opportunity for some people to participate where they might not have otherwise.” Adams gave an update on the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol …
COVID and Cotton Supply Chains
The Beltwide Cotton Economic Economics and Marketing Conference included a presentation by Cotton Incorporated Senior Economist Jon Devine on how the COVID pandemic impacted cotton supply chains in 2020. Devine says the retail segment was hit the hardest, building on already declining sales in stores. “I think the transition was already underway in terms of pushing clothing purchases away from …