Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to provide up to $200 million in assistance for specialty crop producers who incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety certification in calendar years 2022 or 2023.

Agricultural producers who have not yet completed their crop acreage reports after planting should make an appointment with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) service center before the applicable deadline. July 15 is a major deadline for most crops, but acreage reporting deadlines vary by county and by crop.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for members. LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction. This may include LAAs that are focused on an urban or suburban area.

Agriculture producers who did not receive the 2017 Census of Agriculture and do not receive other USDA surveys or censuses have until June 30 to sign up to receive the 2022 Census of Agriculture at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will mail ag census survey codes for responding securely online to every known U.S. producer this November. Hard copy questionnaires will follow in December.

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

he American Soybean Association (ASA) recently led an analysis of federal conservation programs to determine which programs were the most beneficial to farmers and led to greater adoption of conservation practices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is warning vendors who wish to participate in USDA food purchase programs of a possible phishing scheme. The fake emails look like they are solicitations for bids sent by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which manages USDA’s food purchase programs.

One version of the phony email has the subject line “IFB 1336358510” and the body of the email refers to a “bid for the supply of products and services for the Department of Agriculture Projects. While you consider a response, please take note that bids will be submitted electronically after you login our procurement system. Bids are due in our office no later than 3/10/2022 @ 3pm.” The email goes on to say “Documents and Invitation can be accessed via the following link…”

Republican senators slammed the Biden administration on Thursday for high inflation nationwide and said the USDA should free American farmers to plant as much land as they want to avert a potential food crisis. “We’re all hammered with” inflation, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allow Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants who are in the final year of their CRP contract to request voluntary termination of their CRP contract following the end of the primary nesting season for fiscal year 2022. Participants approved for this one-time, voluntary termination will not have to repay rental payments, a flexibility implemented this year to help mitigate the global food supply challenges caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other factors. Today, USDA also announced additional flexibilities for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

Farm Labor: Number of workers, Hours Worked, and Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Delta Region and United States: 2017 - 2022