Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced plans for prepositioning containers of agricultural goods near port terminals to help improve service for shippers of U.S. grown agricultural commodities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering with Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) to enhance access to a 49-acre “pop up” site to accept either dry agricultural or refrigerated containers for temporary storage at NWSA in Seattle to reduce operational hurdles and costs, making it so they can more quickly be loaded on ships at the export terminals. The NWSA includes the marine cargo operations of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma and is the fourth-largest container gateway in the United States.

The 2023 Farm Bill may seem it is a long way off but work on the bill is beginning to significantly pick up as farmer groups develop their own policies to take to Congress. The House Agriculture Committee has already started a deep dive into oversight of the 2018 Farm Bill, while the Senate remains silent so far on the direction it will go.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack as well as USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie both confirmed the agency is not looking to delay sign-ups or lower acres accepted for the Conservation Reserve Program due to the Ukraine-Russia situation.

Senate Agriculture ranking member John Boozman, R-Ark., previously sent a letter asking Vilsack to consider changes to CRP based on food shortage threats.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the deadlines to apply for the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity after requests from many stakeholders.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host the first public meeting of the inaugural Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on March 23-24, 2022. The public – including urban producers– is encouraged to attend.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is updating its farm loan programs to better support current borrowers, including historically underserved producers. These improvements are part of USDA’s commitment to increase equity in all programs, including farm loans that provide important access to capital for covering operating expenses and purchasing land and equipment.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for March 2022, which are effective March 1, 2022. 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.