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Thanksgiving holiday renews focus on bird flu, rising costs
Fresh turkeys are more expensive and smaller than usual leading into the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s due, in part, to the deadly and highly transmissible avian influenza that has wracked turkey producers this year. The virus, which is transmitted by wild, migrating birds, has led to the deaths of […]
USDA gives $73 million to create, expand smaller livestock processors
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its first grant awards on Wednesday — totaling about $73 million — to increase the processing capacity of smaller, independent meatpackers in 16 states. They range from a $292,000 grant to provide independent Montana farmers with a USDA-inspected meat processing facility — which is required to sell the products […]
Federal government has given $800 million to keep indebted farmers afloat
More than 13,000 farmers have benefited from nearly $800 million in federal debt relief, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said earlier this month. The assistance came from a new federal initiative to erase farmers’ loan delinquencies to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and private lenders or to resolve their remaining debts after foreclosure. Going […]
USDA hopes to boost fertilizer production as soon as next year
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $500 million to increase domestic fertilizer production, doubling its previous commitment, the agency announced. The federal dollars would boost long-term projects and ready-to-go proposals that might have an effect as early as next year. Some of the first projects to get funding from the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program […]
Daines part of Senators who propose to boost stockpiles, production of ‘critical minerals’
China’s stranglehold on the production of certain minerals that are used to make high-capacity batteries, fighter jet airframes and a host of other advanced technologies is a threat to the United States’ national security, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Tuesday. Her solution is new legislation — introduced with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and co-sponsored […]
Vilsack highlights ‘mass timber’ to use small trees cut for wildfire prevention
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — The federal government plans to remove kindling from about 75 million acres of land in the next decade — which includes thinning smaller-diameter trees from forests — to help prevent wildfires that have become more frequent and destructive in the western states. That presents a problem: “What do you do […]
Biden pledges more support for farmers, ‘the backbone of freedom’
At an Illinois farm last week, President Joe Biden announced federal assistance to alleviate costs for farmers and consumers and ensure there is enough food to meet world demand as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Biden said he will double the recently announced federal funding to boost domestic fertilizer production. He also pledged to extend […]
Meatpackers deny price fixing for beef
The record profits for meatpackers in the past two years were the result of market conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, along with increased consumer demand, according to leaders of the country’s four large meatpacking companies. The meatpacking executives defended their business practices during a lengthy congressional committee hearing on Wednesday. U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Georgia, […]
Senate begins working on ways to help smaller cattle producers
Some federal lawmakers hope to boost the solvency of smaller cattle producers by giving them more information about current market prices, more options for selling their animals and increased federal oversight of the industry. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry began its consideration of two bills on Tuesday meant to further those […]
Fluctuating grain prices cause co-ops to limit buying
A highly volatile commodities market caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine has prompted some farmer cooperatives to suspend their cash bids to buy grain from producers. Landus Cooperative, the largest agriculture co-op in Iowa, announced Friday it would cease its cash grain bids at 1 p.m. that day because of “increased market risk & volatility […]
USDA warns farmers about even higher fertilizer prices after Russian invasion
The Russian invasion of Ukraine this week might drive up the costs of farm fertilizers globally — which nearly quadrupled last year in price in the United States and remain high — and presents an opportunity for unscrupulous companies to artificially inflate those prices further, according to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “That’s my […]
USDA pledges $1B for ‘climate smart’ ag products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to spend up to $1 billion to foster the creation of climate-friendly agricultural and forestry products by offering grants to facilitate their production and the markets to sell them. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon in those industries. “Agriculture is such an exciting but […]