House Agricultural Committee Chairman Rep. David Scott (D-GA) recently introduced the Small Family Farmer and Rancher Relief Act (H.R. 8590). The act attempts to serve small farmers and ranchers in the cattle industry and address a “growing crisis” in decreasing cattle numbers.
The measure is intended to take a “two-pillar approach” to expanding and diversifying marketing opportunities while helping ranchers to preserve their operations for future generations.
Read MoreSpot quotations were 37 points higher than the previous week, according to the USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service’s Cotton and Tobacco Program. Quotations for the base quality of cotton (color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35-36 and 43-49, strength 27.0-28.9, and uniformity 81.0-81.9) in the seven designated markets averaged 104.41 cents per pound for the week ending Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for August 2022, which are effective Aug. 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.
Read MoreSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen Joe Manchin, D-W.V., announced a long-sought agreement on a tax, climate and healthcare package – the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 - which includes $40 billion for climate-smart agriculture and biofuels.
Manchin says the bill is “laser focused on solving our nation’s major economic, energy and climate problems.”
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that it will indefinitely extend the deadline for producers to return the pre-filled applications for Phase One of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP). A new deadline will be announced after the last Phase One applications are mailed and provide at least 30 days following the mailing.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today it will invest $25 million this year for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials program.
Read MoreA free Fall Wildlife Food Plot Workshop will be offered on August 2, 2022, at the Lincoln Parish Library in Ruston, Louisiana, to provide information on how to improve wildlife habitat by establishing or improving wildlife food plots. This workshop is part of the Trailblazer Tuesdays at the Lincoln Parish Library and is hosted by the Lincoln Parish Library, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Trailblazer RC&D.
Read MoreNASS mailed questionnaires to more than 11,000 producers growing corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts, and sorghum in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas during the last week of June 2022. If you or someone you know received a survey, please be sure to send in your responses by August 12, 2022.
Read MoreHow will this year’s weather conditions affect crop production? The Monthly Agricultural Yield Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey U.S. farmers beginning July 30, 2022, regarding yields of the major row crops throughout the growing season across the United States.
Read MoreLouisiana milk production during the April - June 2022 quarter was 32.0 million pounds, down 9 percent from the same period in 2021 and down 3 percent from the January - March quarter. The average number of milk cows on farms during the quarter was 9,000 head, 500 head lower than the same period last year but unchanged from the previous quarter.
Read MoreUSDA's Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP) requests your input to inform our response to a recent EPA amended atrazine interim decision for registration review that includes ecological mitigation measures. You can learn more about the decision on the Regulations.gov site.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages urban producers and others to attend the second public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on August 5. The Committee will discuss new urban conservation practices, focus areas and priorities for the Commission, and the new Farm Service Agency (FSA) urban county committees, among other topics.
Read MoreEarlier 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThe 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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