‘Without fuel, they cannot do it,’ says Ukraine ag official
Ukrainian farmers are woefully short of fuel ahead of the spring planting season and have lost around 10 percent of their land “to military effects,” such as bombing, said Dzoba Taras, the country’s deputy agriculture minister, during a webinar.
Nutrition security, a step above food security, is USDA goal, says Vilsack
After decades of fighting hunger with food stamps, WIC, and school lunch, the USDA will raise its aim to nutrition security, meaning consistent access to healthful foods for all Americans, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday. The new approach will rely on food education and outreach to neglected groups as well as stronger nutrition standards in federal food programs.
As Colorado River reaches ‘tipping point,’ farmers and tribes will play key role
Decades of drought and overuse have pushed the Colorado River to an ecological “tipping point,” and conservationists need to work closely with farmers and tribal nations to save it, several water experts said Wednesday at a webinar organized by the Nature Conservancy’s Colorado chapter.
‘Spot market’ hog payments may be pro-rated
Hog farmers will have an additional two weeks, until April 29, to apply for federal payments to offset the pandemic-depressed prices offered by packers on the cash market during the summer of 2020, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday.
Today’s Quick Hits
Bird flu in 17 states:Highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in a backyard flock in Rockingham County, in the southeastern corner of New Hampshire. It’s the 17th state with an outbreak of the viral disease this year. (USDA)
USDA livestreams:To improve public access to USDA data, the National Agricultural Statistics Service will livestream the briefings presented to the agriculture secretary following major reports, beginning with the quarterly Hogs and Pigs report on March 30. (USDA)
NASA watches war: U.S. space program satellites will monitor agricultural production in Ukraine and conditions at Ukrainian and Russian ports in the months ahead, the director of NASA’s Earth Science Division said at a farm convention. (National Journal)
Save the date: Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Sunset, Louisiana, to discuss high-speed internet, was postponed for a second time, until Monday. (Ag Insider)
