2022 Soybean Ratings Flipflop for Top States
Earlier this week, USDA surprisingly lowered soybean crop conditions for week 27 of the calendar year (which corresponds to the second week of July) to 62% good or excellent vs 63% last week.
This ran counter to trade expectations of a 1% to 2% improvement in the top two rating categories given good amounts of rain that fell in key soybean producing areas last week.
Using our usual ratings system, we weight the crop based on the percent in each category and assign that category a factor of 2 for very poor, 4 for poor, 6 for fair, 8 for good, and 10 for excellent and then sum the results.
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USDA Invests More Than $14M to Support Agricultural Workforce Training for Historically Underserved Communities to Bolster U.S. Meat and Poultry Sector Resilience
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an additional investment of more than $14 million to support agricultural workforce training in historically underserved communities that will increase the resilience of the U.S. meat and poultry processing sector.
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USDA Accepts More Than 3.1 Million Acres In Grassland CRP Signup
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting offers for more than 3.1 million acres from agricultural producers and private landowners through this year’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Grassland Signup, the highest in history. This program allows producers and landowners to continue grazing and haying practices while protecting grasslands and promoting plant and animal biodiversity and conservation, and it’s part of the Biden-Harris administration’s broader effort to address climate change and to conserve natural resources.
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Ronald Guidry, Jr., Appointed Louisiana Executive Director For Farm Service Agency
The Biden Administration recently appointed Ronald Guidry, Jr. as the new State Executive Director (SED) for the USDA Louisiana Farm Service Agency (FSA). Cole joined the Louisiana FSA team on July 6, 2022.
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USDA/FAS Staff Representing 21 U.S. Embassies Visit the SU Ag Center
Twenty-three USDA/ Foreign Agricultural Service agency members representing 21 U.S. Embassies visited the Southern University Ag Center’s Research Unit on July 7, 2022 as part of the USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service Locally Employed (LE) Staff Training Tour.
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How Hungry, Stingless Wasps Became USDA’s Weapon of Choice to Save Southern Citrus Trees
On a hot Wednesday morning in early June, Joseph Bravata pulled a black SUV with federal plates into a suburban playground parking lot outside New Orleans. The asphalt was bounded on the north by a tangle of oak and tallow trees, and to the east it faced a subdivision with big lawns and wide streets.
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Crop Insurance Reporting Just Got Easier
Specialty crop producers can now benefit from greater flexibility to use their own records to meet crop insurance reporting requirements. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced revisions that will make it easier for specialty crop producers and others who sell through direct marketing channels to obtain insurance, report their annual production, and file a claim.
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USDA Announces July '22 Lending Rates For Agricultural Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for July 2022, which are effective July 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.
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Louisiana Rice And Grain Stocks
USDA’s National Agricultureal Statistics Service released its latest Grain Stocks Report Thursday.
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To Date, USDA Has Issued More Than $35 Million in Emergency Relief Program Payments to Louisiana Agricultural Producers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced, agricultural producers nationwide have already received more than $4 billion through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP), representing nearly 67% of the more than $6 billion projected to be paid through this phase of the program.
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Farm Service Agency Now Accepting Nominations for Farmers and Ranchers to Serve on Local County Committees
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.
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USDA Announces No Actions Under Feedstock Flexibility Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announced today that it does not expect to purchase and sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for crop year 2021, which runs from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022.
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USDA Conducting Survey Concerning Feral Hogs in Louisiana, 10 Other States
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service in cooperation with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - Wildlife Services, is conducting a Feral Swine Damage survey to measure the costs of feral swine damage to crop producers growing corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts, and sorghum in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
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USDA Announces Louisiana Signs Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has signed a cooperative agreement with Louisiana under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). LFPA funds will be used to fund the Nourishing Louisiana program which aims to support Louisiana producers and underserved communities.
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USDA Announces Farm Service Agency State Director for Louisiana
Ronald Guidry, Jr. will be appointed FSA State Executive Director for Louisiana. A native ‘New Orleanian’, Ronald C. Guidry Jr. was born and raised in the neighborhood of Algiers along the west bank of the Mississippi River.
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