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 …
USDA Announces Grants for Veteran Farmers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced $8.4 million in grants that will be used to provide training, outreach and technical assistance for the nation’s socially disadvantaged, tribal and veteran farmers and ranchers. “USDA was created to be ‘The People’s Department,’ and in the past eight years we have made tremendous progress in correcting past mistakes and creating a more inclusive …
Some Changes in USDA Crop Forecast
The September crop forecast out today from USDA decreases the corn crop a bit, but increases both soybeans and cotton. Corn production is now forecast at 15.1 billion bushels, down less than one percent from the August forecast, but still 11 percent more than last year and still expected to be a record. “Based on conditions as of September 1, …
USDA Assisting #Dairy Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced plans to purchase millions of pounds of surplus cheese to aid both hungry families and dairy producers. The purchase of approximately 11 million pounds of cheese, valued at $20 million, will assist food banks and pantries across the nation, while reducing a cheese surplus that is at its highest level in 30 years. …
USDA Invests in New #Farmers
During a visit to Iowa State University this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced some new initiatives to help new and beginning farmers. First, Vilsack announced a new investment of $17.8 million for 37 projects to help educate, mentor, and enhance the sustainability of the next generation of farmers through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). In addition, …
Record #Corn and #Soybean Crop Forecast
USDA’s first crop production forecast based on actual field data is predicting some bin-busting crops this year. Corn production is forecast at 15.2 billion bushels, up 11 percent from last year. Based on conditions as of August 1, yields are expected to average 175.1 bushels per acre, up 6.7 bushels from 2015. If realized, this will be the highest yield …