Eight former agriculture secretaries will help celebrate the 150th anniversary of USDA as they participate in a historic plenary panel at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, which will be held Feb. 23-24, 2012, in Arlington, Va. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will give the keynote address at the forum and moderate the panel which will feature any and all of the …
National FFA Meets With Secretary of Agriculture
I have a concern about this announcement from the FFA. With more than 100,000 new farmers needed over the next few years, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack issued the young leaders of the National FFA Organization a challenge in 2011. “I would like you to with your fellow students and the adult leadership of the organization to develop a series …
Vilsack Announces USDA Streamlining at AFBF Meeting
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack revealed a plan for streamlining operations and cutting costs at USDA during an address to the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting on Monday. “The USDA, like families and businesses across the country, cannot continue to operate like we did 50 years ago,” said Vilsack. “We must innovate, modernize, and be better stewards of the taxpayers’ …
Farm Program Atlas
The USDA Economic Research Service has a Farm Program Atlas online for your searching pleasure. The Farm Program Atlas is a web-based interactive mapping tool that displays payment and participation data on major farm programs and covered commodities at the county level — to visualize how these Federal farm programs vary across the United States. Users can select maps displaying …
Secretary Vilsack Visits NAFB
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack once again paid a visit to the nation’s farm broadcasters at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting in Kansas City where he commmented on a number of issues important to farmers and ranchers. The secretary led with USDA’s announcement today on record growth of U.S. agricultural exports in 2011. “I’m pleased to report that …
What Affects Fall Leaf Color
I think the fall colors are fading here in mid Missouri. We have had some real contrasts this year and it seemed to me like the trees turned color in a couple of waves instead of all at once. Here’s our maple tree when it was in full color. So, have you wondered about the science behind leaf changing? Then …
Vilsack Talks Farm Bill at John Deere
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack chose the John Deere Des Moines Works facility to talk about his priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill, which he says is really a misnomer. “After all, for decades this bill has been about a whole lot more than just farming. It’s been about energy, it’s been about nutrition, it’s been about jobs. Now, some may …
USDA-NASS Proposes Program Changes
It would be nice to see all government agencies take a look at some programs that might be able to be cut to save tax dollars, like USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has done. In light of funding reductions in fiscal year (FY) 2011 and the likelihood of additional reductions in FY 2012, NASS conducted deliberate reviews of all programs …
New USDA-NASS Farm Computer Usage/Ownership Report
It’s time to analyze some new data about farm computer use and ownership. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistic Service has released a new report, “Farm Computer Usage and Ownership, August 2011.” Here’s the opening summary. It’s interesting to see that dialup access has dropped in half since the last report in 2009. Also note how high the percentages get as you …
USDA May Get Precision Ag Data
I have now moved from Nebraska to Illinois for the 2011 InfoAg Conference. This is all about precision agriculture so most of our coverage will be found on Precision Pays. Thanks to Cindy we have coverage already started since I was a little slow moving this morning. Here’s her report on the opening session: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Acreage …