Farm income declines in northern Plains The two-year decline in commodity prices drove down farm income in the northern Plains this summer, ag bankers said overwhelmingly in a survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, and they expect income to fall again this winter. Farmers have cut back on major… Continue reading
Farmers need ‘significant’ federal help to survive drop in income “One in five farmers could be pushed out of business by the sharp drop in farm income this year,” said Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at a Senate hearing on disaster aid, and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman asked how rural America… Continue reading
Disaster package asks $24 billion for agriculture One fourth of the $99 billion in disaster aid requested by President Biden would be funneled through the USDA, with the bulk of the $24 billion devoted to offsetting lost crop production and reduced quality of crops. Agriculture deputy secretary Xochitl Torres Small… Continue reading
Stabenow files farm bill with $2 billion in speedy payments The government would send $2 billion to financially beleaguered farmers almost immediately under a mammoth farm bill proposed by Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow on Monday — months sooner than the Republican bill awaiting a House vote. With only a… Continue reading
First human case of bird flu in Oregon, U.S. total rises to 52 Public health officials confirmed six additional cases of bird flu infection of farmworkers, five in California and one in Oregon, raising the U.S. total to 52 this year. The Oregon infection was the first in the state… Continue reading
Rural landslide is part of ‘historic realignment’ in Trump victory President Trump rolled up 63 percent of the vote in rural America, a larger margin than in 2016, on the way to winning a second term in the White House on Tuesday. Farm groups offered to work with him on… Continue reading
Trump picks Kennedy, vaccine skeptic, for health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will head the Department of Health and Human Services in the new administration, said President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday. “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in… Continue reading
Republicans elect farm-state Sen. Thune for majority leader Republican John Thune of South Dakota prevailed over two rivals in closed-door voting on Wednesday and will become Senate majority leader in January. A supporter of biofuels, Thune, No. 2 in GOP leadership since 2019, will be the first majority leader from… Continue reading
As rural America turns gray, ‘older age’ counties triple Roughly one in five rural Americans is over the age of 65, and the number of “older age” counties, where at least 20 percent of residents have reached retirement age, has tripled since 2010, said a USDA report on Tuesday. Rural… Continue reading
Mexico displaces China as top market for U.S. food and ag exports U.S. food and ag sales to Mexico surged by 7 percent during the 2024 fiscal year, making the North American neighbor the No. 1 ag export customer, according to Census Bureau data tracked by the USDA. China, the… Continue reading
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