Derecho blows away expectations of a record-setting U.S. corn crop The windstorm that blasted across Iowa — “basically a 40 mile-wide tornado,” in the words of Gov. Kim Reynolds — wiped out 9 percent of the crop in the nation’s No. 1 corn state and obliterated the chances for a… Continue reading
Is America’s food supply safe from terrorist attacks? No. The United States spends more than $1 billion every year to keep America’s food supply safe, but even without terrorism, food-borne diseases cause about 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…. Continue reading
Siding with farmers, Trump tells EPA to deny retroactive biofuel waiver requests With an eye toward shoring up Farm Belt support less than two months before the election, President Trump directed the EPA to deny dozens of oil refiner requests for retroactive waivers from U.S. biofuel laws, Reuters reported on… Continue reading
Vilsack highlights Biden’s support of ethanol Democrat Tom Vilsack, the former agriculture secretary and Iowa governor, made a virtual campaign sweep through the farm state last week on behalf of Joe Biden, emphasizing that the Democratic presidential nominee was a friend of ethanol. Pandemic paradox: As food poverty rises,… Continue reading
Perdue gets blank check for ag aid Senate Republicans proposed $20 billion in additional aid to agriculture in their new coronavirus package on Monday, leaving it to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allot the money. The proposed increase in farm aid came as the USDA released figures showing that it… Continue reading
(USDA / Ag Insider) The first Labor Day celebration was a big parade held on September 5, 1882 in New York City. Organized by trade unions to impress employers and politicians, it overlooked farmers even though 49 percent of American workers were employed on farms at the time. In… Continue reading
Risk of ‘food nationalism’ as coronavirus pandemic sweeps world The world’s grain reserves are large, with a bumper crop on the horizon, but the coronavirus pandemic has already inspired agricultural protectionism in a small number of countries, said analysts in a think tank paper this week. Separately, former Agriculture Undersecretary… Continue reading
USDA to release coronavirus reserve funds, makes more products eligible More than half a million farmers and ranchers will get a second round of coronavirus relief payments, worth an estimated $1.4 billion, said the Agriculture Department on Tuesday as it made dozens of additional commodities eligible for aid and gave… Continue reading
Biggest farmers stand solidly with Trump, poll shows Large-scale farmers and ranchers say they will vote in landslide numbers for President Trump this fall, applauding his handling of agriculture and foreign policy, said a Farm Futures poll released on Wednesday. Some 75 percent of respondents to the nationwide email poll… Continue reading
In abrupt reversal, USDA extends summer school food waivers The Department of Agriculture said Monday that it would extend school meal waivers through Dec. 30—less than a week after Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue had said the programs would lapse by Sept. 30. The sudden reversal came amid an outcry from… Continue reading
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