According to USDA, Americans spend just under 10 percent of their disposable annual income on food, the lowest average of any country in the world, and the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Spring Picnic Marketbasket Survey highlighted a slight decrease in the current retail prices of several popular foods, including salad, orange juice, shredded cheddar, ground chuck, sirloin tip roast, …
NFU Renews Partnership with Feeding America
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has pledged to contribute to nationwide hunger relief through a renewed commitment to Feeding America’s Invest An Acre program aiming to help fight the food insecurity problem for millions of Americans across the country. The organization officially kicked off its fundraising efforts this week following an announcement at the NFU 114th Anniversary Convention in Minneapolis. …
AAEA Members Take Their Message to Capitol Hill
Farm income, assets, and equity are all expected to decline nearly three percent in 2016, while farm debt is forecasted to rise about two percent. However, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association(AAEA) reminds us these numbers may not tell the whole story. AAEA members Ani Katchova (The Ohio State University) and Allen Featherstone (Kansas State University), along with Jeffrey Hopkins …
National Potato Promotion Board Makes Big Updates
The United States Potato Board is no more. Instead the board has chosen Potatoes USA as their new business name. This new update comes as a result of a recently created mission and strategic plan to “strengthen demeaned for U.S. potatoes.” The organization promotes potatoes in all their forms and hopes to make potatoes exciting! Their new goals include making …
Discovering FARMLAND Offers Virtual FieldTrip
As the generations become further removed from agriculture and farms become more technologically advanced the gap between the two is ever widening. The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) and Discovery Education are working to bridge that gap with a program designed to give students a firsthand look at modern agriculture–Discovering FARMLAND. Now the two programs are offering a live education …
Two Essay Contest Winners Awarded on Ag Day
Another agricultural award recipient present in Washington, D.C. on National Ag Day was Emily Dougherty, one winner of the Annual Ag Day Essay Contest. The Annual Ag Day Essay Contest encourages students in 9th-12th grade to submit a written or video essay. This year’s contest theme was “Agriculture: Stewards of a Healthy Planet.” The winner of the video essay content …
Meet the 2016 Charles Eastin Award Winner
Christina O’Brien, Norz Hill Farm, Bridgewater, NJ, was awarded the 2016 Charles Eastin Award for encouraging communications between rural and urban audiences. The award was presented at the Celebration of Agriculture Dinner held at USDA in Washington, D.C. on National Ag Day, March 15, 2016. O’Brien is involved with many organizations, keeping her focus on spreading the message of agriculture …
Ag Day Address from John Deere Economist
The annual National Ag Day Celebration of Agriculture Dinner took place at the USDA building this year and Orion Samuelson graced goers with his unforgettable voice and career-long commitment to agriculture. JB Penn, Chief Economist, John Deere was honored to serve as the evenings keynote speaker, but even more humbled to be introduced by an icon in American agriculture. “We …
National Ag Day Meet & Mingle
The National Ag Day Meet & Mingle Lunch took place in Washington D.C. drawing attendees to the Dirksen Senate Building for lunch and to once again hear from the legendary Orion Samuelson, WGN, who served as the events emcee. Chad Garone took to the mic representing the Outstanding Farmers of America (OFA) and the 2015 class of Outstanding Young Farmers. …
Disappointment Over Senate GMO Labeling Vote
Despite the best efforts of Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions Bill in a 48-49 vote today, blocking advancement of the legislation that would create a voluntary federal standard for labeling foods with genetically modified ingredients. Roberts expressed his disappointment at the inability to come to agreement on …