USDA allots $300 million for first year of export program The government will provide up to $300 million for the first year of a new program to build food and ag export sales in nontraditional markets, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. The USDA has committed $1.2 billion over… Continue reading
Foreign buyers pay a premium for U.S. farmland An analysis of farmland sales in the Midwest and Plains states found foreign investors paid 13.7 percent more than American purchasers for comparable tracts, but the infrequent transactions did not affect land values overall, said Mykel Taylor, an associate professor of agricultural… Continue reading
USDA awards $196 million for local food production and marketing As part of President Biden’s initiative to strengthen U.S. supply chains, the Agriculture Department announced $196 million in grants, loans, and loan guarantees to projects to expand domestic food and agriculture production on Monday. The awards range from loan guarantees… Continue reading
Swine epidemic in China casts long shadow on world pork market China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of pork, recovered from an epidemic of African swine fever among its pig herds by late 2021, three years after its first reported outbreak of the disease. Yet the domestic pork market… Continue reading
Farm income cools, land prices climb in northern Plains Cropland values rose by 7.2 percent in the northern Plains this summer, said agricultural bankers in a quarterly survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. Land values rose even as farm income declined from last summer, lenders said, due to high… Continue reading
USDA and SBA to collaborate on rural development The Agriculture Department and the Small Business Administration agreed on Monday to increase investments in small and underserved rural communities, said agency leaders. The USDA has a portfolio of billions of dollars in grants, loans, and loan guarantees for rural housing, business… Continue reading
Farm bill debate pits conservation vs. commodities The current tug-of-war among lawmakers for farm bill funding “offers a case study” of the long-running tension between conservation and crop subsidies, said Jonathan Coppess, associate professor at the University of Illinois. This time, the issue is whether to shift up to $18… Continue reading
Farm lobby pushes for new farm bill in early 2024 Farm groups called for Congress on Thursday to overcome a months-long impasse and enact a new farm bill early next year. President Biden was expected to sign legislation that extends current farm law until next Sept. 30 but the farm… Continue reading
Rural population is growing slowly Rural America, home to one in seven Americans, “is growing again after a decade of overall population loss” and is now home to 46 million people, said the USDA’s “Rural America at a Glance” report on Wednesday. Rural employment has recovered from the job losses… Continue reading
Food inflation rate falls for 14th month in a row The U.S. food inflation rate was 3.3 percent over the past 12 months, one-third of its peak in August 2022, said the Labor Department on Tuesday. The food inflation rate was down 0.4 points from the previous month’s annualized rate… Continue reading
USDA News & Features Organic Food Features