USDA’s latest Cold Storage Report, released Monday, shows animal protein levels are still impacted by COVID-19. The monthly report, provided by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, shows the end-of-month volume of commodities in freezer storage throughout the U.S. An important market-moving report, it covers most commodities that require cold transport, ranging from nuts, to fruits and vegetables, to dairy and meat.
Read MoreLaunched last March to assure consumers that farmers and ranchers take very seriously their commitment to fill grocery store shelves with safe, affordable food, #StillFarming has reached more than 100 million people in all 50 states and more than 90 countries.
Whether they were prepping the soil for spring planting, tending to newly sprouted crops, harvesting those crops at just the right time, feeding and milking their dairy cows or looking after their cattle, chickens and pigs, farmers and ranchers carried on, day-in and day-out, while much of the world came to a standstill.
Read MoreWhere would we be without agriculture? Some would say naked and hungry. While that may be true for a time, I say eventually we as a society would be no more. Think about it. You can only be hungry for so long and then with no food being grown, what happens?
Switching topics for a minute…let’s say it’s your birthday. Why is this day any more important than the other 364 days? It’s not, but it is a day set apart to remember the value of you. We take this opportunity to celebrate you, how you have impacted our lives and what you have gone through the past 364 days. It also gives you that same opportunity and provides you with the chance to see your impact through others’ eyes. That is the precise reason we celebrate National Ag Day every year in March.
Read MoreFarmers are invited to submit nominations for the 2022 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year contest, supported by Purina. This is the fourth year of the contest, which celebrates farm dogs and the many ways they support farmers and ranchers in producing nutritious food for families and their pets across America.
The grand prize winner – Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year – will win a year’s worth of Purina dog food and $5,000 in prize money. The winner will be recognized at a Farm Dog of the Year award ceremony at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in January 2022. Up to four regional runners-up* will each win $1,000 in prize money.
Read MoreMarch 15 is the deadline to enroll in the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) or Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs for 2021. Program enrollment, which farmers can do on a commodity-by-commodity basis, is required to participate in the programs this year. ARC and PLC are Title I commodity safety net programs established in the 2018 farm bill. For the 2021/22 crop year, farmers can change their coverage options from what they selected in 2019 for each of the commodities and base acres enrolled.
Read MoreThe American Farm Bureau Federation is calling on Congress to remove barriers to farm ownership. Bills aimed at eliminating the estate tax were introduced in the Senate and House Tuesday. Both are supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Read MoreThis Market Intel article is the second in a five-part series highlighting agricultural ecosystem credit markets and the opportunities and challenges they present farmers, as well as the policy levers and many other factors involved. The first article, Sustainability Markets, Part 1: Agricultural Ecosystem Credit Markets – The Primer, provided a primer on agricultural ecosystem credit markets, how the markets are developing and operating and who is behind them and why.
Read MoreThis Market Intel article is the first in a five-part series highlighting agricultural ecosystem credit markets and the opportunities and challenges they present farmers, as well as the policy levers and many other factors involved.
This article provides a primer on agriculture ecosystem credit markets. With so many emerging ideas and platforms, it’s important to explore how these markets are developing and operating, as well as who is behind them and why.
Read MoreWhat a difference a year makes. In 2020, the spring crop insurance prices for corn, soybeans and cotton were near the lowest levels of the last decade. Now, on the back of strong export demand from China and smaller-than-anticipated old-crop inventories, crop insurance prices have experienced the largest year-over-year increase in more than a decade, helping to boost insurance protection for farmers as they prepare for the planting season.
Read MoreFarm Bureaus across the nation are preparing for Agricultural Safety Awareness Program Week, Feb. 28 – March 6. U.S. Agricultural Safety and Health Centers will join Farm Bureau in promoting ag safety this week with the theme “Driving Safety Home.”
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on USDA’s decision to extend the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) application deadline. AFBF sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting an extension for farmers and ranchers.
Read MoreFarmers and ranchers across a large swathe of the country are anxiously awaiting a warm-up after temperatures plummeted to record lows and whole states – many much more accustomed to moderate winter weather at worst – were covered in ice and snow.
Read MoreAs the U.S. waits to see if record corn purchases from China will turn into record shipments, there may be an economic incentive to buy more U.S. corn.
American Farm Bureau Federation chief economist John Newton says the economics show China can buy U.S. corn at a discounted price compared to what buyers are seeing domestically.
Read MoreWith the release of USDA’s Farm Labor Survey on February 11, farmers that utilize the H-2A program finally know the minimum wage they must pay their H-2A workers in 2021. Usually, this wage rate, known as the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, is known when the Farm Labor Survey is released in November, but changes in policy that were proposed and then struck down in the courts over the last four months delayed the Farm Labor Survey’s release, which in turn held up the AEWR announcement. The FLS reveals an average increase of $0.63 per hour, or 4.5%, from 2020 to 2021, though there are considerable regional differences.
Read MoreThe agriculture industry is constantly looking to increase their sustainability practices and new data shows that it is paying off. New analysis of EPA data highlights agricultural emissions reductions and the importance of developing new research and technologies to capture more carbon in cropland and pastureland.
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