The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is providing funding for watershed programs available through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which help communities recover from the impacts of natural resources.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for December 2021, which are effective Dec. 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.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced USDA is accepting applications for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to help people in rural areas get access to high-speed internet.
This announcement comes on the heels of the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides another nearly $2 billion in additional funding for the ReConnect program.
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The pandemic revealed an increased interest in smaller and local meat processing facilities as a way to add resiliency to the current meat processing sector, as well as consumers’ desire to connect directly with local producers. USDA announced an investment of $32 million in grants awarded to 167 meat and poultry slaughter and processing facilities to support expanded capacity and efficiency through the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant program.
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United States Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small announced Nov. 19 that USDA is investing $222 million to build and improve critical community facilities in 44 states, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. This community infrastructure funding will benefit nearly 2.5 million people in rural communities.
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Recently released USDA projections reveal expectations for U.S. crop prices to decrease over the next 10 years while prices for major animal products, except hogs, are forecast to increase. Expected declines for crops follow a period of generally higher prices that have peaked during the current marketing year. The price-bolstering effects of economic recovery, renewed export demand, and logistical problems in supply chains are forecast to subside after the recent peak during the 2021/22 marketing year, and crop prices are forecast subsequently to return to the earlier pattern of generally lower prices through 2031.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun issuing approximately $270 million in payments to contract producers of eligible livestock and poultry who applied for Pandemic Assistance.
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Representative Clay Higgins (R-La.), House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), and Oversight Republicans called on U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to delay the implementation of President Biden’s vaccine mandate for USDA employees until the department can explain how it will make up for the potential loss in staff. The Republican lawmakers express concern with current vacancies at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the vaccine mandate’s potential to impair our economy, food supply, and national security.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department is investing $86 million to improve equitable access to jobs, business opportunities, education, housing and health care for people who live and work in rural areas.
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The USDA awarded a $491,212 multi-year grant to Louisiana Central that will create more opportunities for farmers and ranchers and increase the availability of locally sourced food.
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Physical loss loans can help producers repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property essential to the success of the agricultural operation, including livestock losses.
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The American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives today stating its opposition to the Build Back Better Act, also known as the reconciliation package.
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The wait may soon be over for the future of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). After a long-awaited decision from the Biden Administration, Pro Farmer's Jim Wiesemeyer reports EPA Administrator Michael Regan says the blending requirements won't favor oil or agriculture. These comments led to more chatter a RFS announcement may finally be coming.
It's been rumored and reported since summer, and then again in September, that the Biden Administration was planning to cut biofuel blending obligations within the RFS. But since the reports, no announcement has been made.
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The weather forecasted for this week shows cool but mostly mild sunny temperatures with daytime highs in the low to mid 70s and late evening temps mostly in the mid 50s. It will cool down a few degrees more by Monday, November 15.
Prices for Elliotts were higher.
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This month’s 2021/22 U.S. cotton estimates are largely unchanged from October. The U.S. production forecast is slightly higher, at 18.2 million bales, while domestic mill use and exports are unchanged. U.S. ending stocks are 200,000 bales higher at 3.4 million—19 percent of use—and 250,000 above the previous year.
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