Author: The Farm Report

USDA takes average of 630 days to process civil rights complaints, lawmakers told For decades, the USDA has been accused of racial and gender discrimination in its programs, hiring and employment practices, and it has been subject to both class action lawsuits and settlements. A hearing on Tuesday examined shortcomings… Continue reading

Deadly bird flu found in two more states State and federal officials said they would kill infected poultry flocks in Kentucky and Virginia to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a deadly poultry disease. The Agriculture Department reported the new cases on Monday and asked trading partners… Continue reading

Pandemic casts shadow on sunny cotton outlook Global demand for cotton would reach an all-time high this year, thanks to the economic resurgence from the pandemic that has driven cotton prices to their highest level in a decade, said the National Cotton Council on Sunday. Despite the sunny outlook, prospects… Continue reading

Pushed by high meat prices, food inflation rate hits 7 percent Food prices are rising at a faster and faster rate, reported the Labor Department on Thursday. Food inflation, a modest 2.2 percent a year last May, started 2022 at a 7 percent gallop, the eighth month in a row… Continue reading

‘Phase one’ was doomed to disappoint, and it did, say analysts The 2020 agreement that de-escalated the Sino-U.S. trade war set unrealistically high goals for U.S. exports to China and failed to deliver on them by large margins, say analysts. Overall, China bought just 57 percent of the goods and… Continue reading

USDA is ‘lone wolf’ inventing climate program on its own, says GOP The senior Republican on the House Agriculture Committee accused the USDA of exceeding its authority — “We’re the ones that authorize programs”— by launching a $1 billion initiative to develop climate-smart commodities on Tuesday. A senior Republican on… Continue reading

USDA to put $1 billion into climate-smart pilot projects The USDA will spend $1 billion on climate-smart pilot projects, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Monday, delivering on a pledge made last September to help farmers develop a market for sustainably produced commodities. The demonstration projects could change the shape… Continue reading

Farm income is forecast far above average for second year Record-high expenses and sharply lower federal subsidies will erode farm income in 2022, according to a forecast by the Agriculture Department. Nonetheless, U.S. agriculture would see one of its best years on record, with net farm income 26 percent above… Continue reading

The new California gold rush into anaerobic digesters There’s money in manure for California dairy farmers with anaerobic digesters that capture methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from their cattle’s manure. Each cow on a farm with a digester can generate $2,827 a year in air pollution and biofuel credits for… Continue reading

Aid ‘natural climate solutions’ with bigger USDA stewardship spending, says report Congress should substantially increase — as much as double — funding for USDA stewardship programs that encourage climate mitigation and help farmers make money from climate-smart practices, said a Washington think tank on Wednesday. Rural America needs ‘circular economy,’… Continue reading