A lot of drama and speculation preceded the appearance of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at Commodity Classic, thanks to some reports questioning his support for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), so he wasted no time in stating his “unequivocal” support for the law. “I have not and will not support any policies in this country that diminish the demand, undermine …
Perdue Discusses State of Rural Economy
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefed members of the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday on the current state of the rural economy and USDA’s farm bill priorities. “We’re in a very different situation than when you last contemplated a farm bill,” said Perdue in his opening remarks. “The state of the rural economy is fragile.” Secretary Perdue was asked about a number …
USDA Deputy Censky Visits #CIRB2018
U.S Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky visited the 2018 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting this week in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Our crop insurance program here in the United States is the envy of countries around the world,” said Censky. At the same time, he admitted that the 2018 farm bill will be facing budget challenges. “The dollars are …
Reaction to President Trump’s SOTU
President Donald Trump made no direct mention of agriculture in his first State of the Union address, but he did address important issues for agriculture and rural America including infrastructure and immigration, trade and taxes. Trump called on Congress to “produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs,” …
Censky Receives Biodiesel Pioneer Award
USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky was presented with the Eye on Biodiesel Pioneer award at the 2018 National Biodiesel Conference Wednesday. As the long-time CEO of the American Soybean Association, Censky was instrumental in the growth and advancement of biodiesel over the years. ASA’s primary focus as an organization is policy development and implementation of soybean farmer issues, including biodiesel. …
Proposed Rule to Modernize Swine Inspection
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced its continued effort to modernize inspection systems through science-based approaches to food safety. USDA is proposing to amend the federal meat inspection regulations to establish a new voluntary inspection system for market hog slaughter establishments called the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS), while also requiring additional pathogen sampling for all …
Corn Yields and Soybean Acres Set 2017 Records
Corn yields and soybean acreage set records in 2017, according to the Crop Production summary from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) out Friday. Corn production was four percent lower in 2017 compared to 2016, but a record high 176.6 bushel per acre yield helped to make up a little bit for the five percent drop in harvested acres. The …
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue at #AFBF18
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue set the stage for his boss and our President Donald J. Trump to address the largest general farm organization in the country Monday. Perdue highlighted accomplishments of the Trump Administration related to agriculture and discussed the importance of trade and NAFTA in particular to U.S. agriculture. “To get a deal, we need all sides …
What Secretary Sonny Needs From Santa
It’s been a long and busy year for Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, but here at the end he is still short-staffed at USDA and could use some help from Santa to get the job done. “I had no idea we would be delayed like this and it’s unfortunate,” said Sec. Perdue in a recent interview with Iowa Agribusiness Network‘s …
USDA Boosts Corn for Ethanol Forecast
Ethanol is driving up demand for corn in the December supply demand estimate from USDA. The forecast for 2017-18 increases the amount of corn used to produce ethanol by 50 million bushels to 5.525 billion, based on less sorghum going to ethanol production. Corn ending stocks are lowered in turn by 50 million bushels but the impact on the season-average …