The U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted an announcement between themselves, General Mills, and the largest and oldest pollinator conservation organization, the Xerces Society this morning. The three organizations are joining together to protect the habitats of pollinators on hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. The project is a five-year, $4 million commitment to provide the technical assistance for planting …
Vilsack Bids Farewell at #NAFB16
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made his final appearance at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention of his eight years in this office. “First of all, I want to thank the broadcasters here today,” Vilsack started his remarks to a standing room only crowd. “I think all of you have done and continue to do a great service, particularly …
Big Crops Get Bigger
USDA increased the numbers for corn, soybeans, cotton and oranges in the latest crop production forecast out Wednesday. Corn production is now forecast at 15.2 billion bushels, up one percent from the October forecast and 12 percent higher than last year with yields expected to average 175.3 bushels per acre, which will be the highest yield and production on record. …
Enroll Now for 2017 ARC and PLC Programs
If your farm is covered by the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC), now is the time to visit you local FSA office to sign contracts and enroll for 2017. Starting this month, the enrollment period will continue until August 1, 2017, says FSA Administrator, Val Dolcini. “FSA issued more than $7 billion in payments in October …
Sec Vilsack Says Diversity in Ag Key to Future
Diversity was the simple message Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shared with FFA members at the 89th National FFA Convention. He encouraged each young person to be proud of our history in agriculture and to use their voice to tell that inspiring story. “I am here first and foremost today to thank FFA for it’s commitment to diversity. Each of you …
Need More Corn Exports on Heels of USDA Crop Report
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its new corn forecast report and predicts that this year’s corn harvest will reach 15.057 bushels. Although this is down around 36 million bushels from last month’s estimates, it is still predicted to be another record crop. The World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates Report also lowered corn supplies for 2016/2017 from …
Celebrate #NationalFarmersDay
Today is National Farmers Day. Just in time to celebrate our American farmers, country star Blake Shelton teaches Late Night Host Jimmy Fallon to milk a cow. I don’t know about you, but I definitely have more appreciation for farmers after watching this! As Twitter blows up today in honor of our growers, several quotes stand out. In the words …
USDA Issues 2015 Market Downturn Payments
Many of the 1.7 million farms enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs will now be receiving safety-net payments, thanks to the down markets of 2015. “This fall, USDA will be making more than $7 billion in payments under the ARC-County and PLC programs to assist participating producers, which will account for over 10 …
Happy National Co-op Month!
National Co-op Month has been celebrated annually in October across the United States for more than half a century and this year’s theme is “Cooperatives Build.” “The cooperative business model continues to perform strongly,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “While the model has long been one of the hallmarks of rural economies, its reach has greatly expanded to include almost …
USDA Report Shows Biobased is a Growing Industry
The USDA has released a report showing the biobased products industry contributed $393 billion and 4.2 million jobs to the American economy in 2014. That’s a growth of 220,000 jobs and $24 billion over 2013. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has found the biobased economy to be one of the four pillars that support the rural economy of the U.S. “When …