Month: October 2020

Judge blocks USDA suspension of farm wage survey The USDA will have to go ahead with its semiannual survey of farmworker wages under a ruling issued Wednesday by a U.S. district court judge. Farmworker advocates say the Trump administration, by attempting to abandon the survey, is trying to depress farm… Continue reading

‘Phase one’ fails to deliver, and a new approach to China is needed, says trade expert The “phase one” agreement that de-escalated the Sino-U.S. trade war is not paying off in massive sales of U.S. products, including food and agricultural exports, to China or in the long-term reform of Chinese… Continue reading

EPA approves dicamba on GE cotton and soybeans through 2025 The Trump administration approved the use of the weedkiller dicamba on genetically engineered cotton and soybeans for the next five years, saying new safeguards would tame a notoriously volatile herbicide blamed for damaging crops on millions of acres of neighboring… Continue reading

Trump wrong on wind, just like ethanol, say Iowa Democrats Despite his visits to Iowa, President Trump “seems to be out of touch with what really matters out in the countryside,” said Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary in the Obama era, on Monday. Vilsack was part of a line-up of Iowa… Continue reading

    (AgInsider) Federal legislation introduced this month to automatically enroll children of eligible service members into school meals programs reflects the scope of food insecurity among military families — a population that often gets overlooked in coverage of hunger and economic hardship.   The Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility… Continue reading

House ag leadership at stake in tight Peterson-Fischbach race If there were a “toss-up caucus” of U.S. representatives in the tightest races, House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson could be its premiere member. The Blue Dog Democrat from western Minnesota is running for re-election against a well-financed Republican, former Lt. Gov…. Continue reading

Organic agriculture sales up 31 percent in three years While still a small sector of U.S. agriculture, organic agriculture is booming, reported the USDA on Thursday. Sales totaled $9.9 billion in 2019, an increase of 31 percent in three years, and 29 percent of organic farmers say they plan to… Continue reading

(AgInsider) Public health experts are concerned about a possible resurgence of Covid-19 in food production plants this fall and say more comprehensive testing, physical distancing, and better data reporting are essential to keeping the virus in check, even as meatpackers insist that the worst of the pandemic has passed.  … Continue reading

Conservation Reserve shrinks to smallest size since 1988 Lawmakers decided as part of the 2018 farm policy law to expand the voluntary Conservation Reserve, which pays landowners an annual rent in exchange for idling fragile farmland for 10 years or longer. Although the expansion was expected to be popular —… Continue reading

Cattle group proposes more transparency in market prices As an antidote for the dwindling cash market, the largest U.S. cattle group circulated a plan on Tuesday for meatpackers to voluntarily buy cattle on the spot market to assure fair and open prices, with the threat of mandatory disclosure if the… Continue reading