For years milk has been a staple for many families when they are looking something delicious and nutritious. But now there’s even more good news to share about real dairy milk.
New information based on updated U.S. Department of Agriculture databases shows milk packs 13 essential nutrients in every serving, including zinc, selenium, iodine and potassium, plus nine more vitamins and minerals contributing to health, immune function, and strong bones and muscles.
Read MoreDid you plant a cover crop and also have crop insurance coverage for your spring crops this year?
If so, you may be eligible for a premium benefit through the new Pandemic Cover Crop Program. To receive this benefit, you must file a Report of Acreage (FSA578) by June 15, 2021.
Read MorePlease complete your June Agricultural and Area surveys. The information you provide is a critical foundation for understanding U.S. agricultural activities, land uses, crop acreage, production and stocks. Fill out your surveys online at http://agcounts.usda.gov
Read MoreBetty Chenier, aged 60, grows potatoes, watermelon, kale, collards, and other vegetables, and raises chickens, hogs and cattle on her 50-acre farm, selling her produce at a farmer’s market in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Betty and her husband, John, bought their current farm in Opelousas, Louisiana roughly 30 years ago, but the couple has been farming far longer, John since childhood. While roughly 33,000 farmers receive a loan from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency each year, Betty and John have never received a loan from the USDA. It’s not for lack of trying. When Chenier Farms applied for a USDA loan to purchase a water well, “they wanted us to mortgage 50 acres for a loan of $10,000.” That didn’t feel fair to Betty – in Louisiana, an acre of farmland is worth roughly $1,000 – so they looked for a private loan instead.
Read MoreProducers who have crop insurance coverage may qualify for premium support up to $5 per acre in a new USDA assistance program if they planted cover crops for the 2021 crop year.
The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday some cover crop acreage could be eligible for the Pandemic Cover Crop Program offered by USDA's Risk Management Agency.
Qualifying cover crops include cereals, grasses, legumes, brassicas, non-legume broadleaves, and mixes of two or more cover crop species planted at the same time.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced loan interest rates for June 2021, which are effective June 1. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures, or meet cash flow needs
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of up to $4 million for grants to support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects. USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (Office) is accepting proposals for planning and innovation projects, and these grants are part of USDA’s broader efforts to support urban agriculture.
USDA will accept applications on Grants.gov until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 30, 2021.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly agricultural trade forecast projects fiscal year 2021 U.S. farm exports at $164 billion — the highest total on record.
The projections represents an increase of $28 billion, or 21 percent, from last fiscal year’s total, and a $7-billion increase from USDA’s previous FY 2021 forecast published in February. The previous annual export record of $152.3 billion was set in FY 2014.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced an initiative to quantify the climate benefits of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts. This multi-year effort will enable USDA to better target CRP toward climate outcomes and improve existing models and conservation planning tools while supporting USDA’s goal of putting American agriculture and forestry at the center of climate-smart solutions to address climate change.
Read MoreRepublicans on the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday proposed a three-year program with $7.35 billion in funding to bring broadband access to rural America. The bill would focus on the most remote and least served areas.
Read MoreUSDA’s latest Cattle on Feed report, released May 21, shows the number of animals on feed as of May 1 is 4.7% above year-ago levels. The report provides monthly estimates of the number of cattle being fed for slaughter. For the report, USDA surveys feedlots of 1,000 head or more, as this represents 85% of all fed cattle. Cattle feeders provide data on inventory, placements, marketings and other disappearance. It is important to remember that due to COVID-19 disruptions last year, typical year-over-year comparisons need to be contextualized.
Read MoreFrom May 2021 through July 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), in collaboration with the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will conduct its third national study of U.S. small enterprise swine operations.
The study will take an in-depth look at small enterprise swine operations (fewer than 1,000 pigs) and provide new information regarding animal health and management practices used on these operations, as well as the alternative marketing strategies they implement.
Read MoreBridging the digital divide—particularly in rural areas where broadband is insufficiently deployed—is the Federal Communication Commission’s top priority, the agency says. However, it continues to fall short for rural America and House Republicans want to direct resources to the USDA to address the shortfalls in rural connectivity.
“The FCC had had their chance, and they haven’t gotten it done,” says Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., and one of the lead authors of a new proposal to put USDA in the driver seat of trying to connect the last mile.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) today published the first notice of funding availability (NOFA) (PDF, 242 KB) announcing loan payments for eligible borrowers with qualifying direct farm loans under the American Rescue Plan Act Section 1005.
Read MoreGlobal trade in food and agricultural products grew by 3.5% last year, according to the WTO, leading to descriptions that the sector was robust and resilient in the face of the worst pandemic in a century. However, a USDA working paper says the impact of the coronavirus was obscured by such factors as the de-escalation of the Sino-U.S. trade war.
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