Promoting Fair Competition And Innovation In Seeds And other Agricultural Input Industries
Promoting Fair Competition And Innovation In Seeds And other Agricultural Input Industries

On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued a historic Executive Order titled “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” which creates a whole-of-government approach to competition and includes initiatives across federal agencies to tackle some of the most pressing issues across our economy. Among other things, the Executive Order directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, to submit a report to the Chair of the White House Competition Council on concerns and strategies for ensuring “that the intellectual property (IP) system, while incentivizing innovation, does not also unnecessarily reduce competition in seed and other input markets beyond that reasonably contemplated by the Patent Act.”

Read More
USDAdon molino
USDA Announces Next Steps In Providing Financial Assistance To Borrowers Who Have Faced Discrimination
USDA Announces Next Steps In Providing Financial Assistance To Borrowers Who Have Faced Discrimination

Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, directs USDA to provide financial assistance to producers who have experienced discrimination in USDA’s farm lending programs. This program gives USDA the ability to provide financial assistance for farmers, ranchers, or forest landowners determined to have experienced discrimination in USDA's farm lending programs prior to January 1, 2021.
 

Read More
USDAdon molino
Calculating New Options For Shrinking Rice Fields
Calculating New Options For Shrinking Rice Fields

George Tibbitts, a third-generation farmer in Arbuckle, CA, has been growing rice on his 1,200-acre farm for three decades. His Sacramento Valley irrigation district, one of the oldest in the state, has long benefitted from senior water rights, which date back to 1914. The rights allow farmers such as Tibbitts to keep their fields flush with water, even in arid conditions.

But last year, with much of the state in extreme drought, he faced a career first: His district slashed water allocations by an unprecedented 90 percent, leaving him with little choice but to fallow all of his rice fields. 

Read More
Ricedon molino
Louisiana Beef Quality Assurance Certification
Louisiana Beef Quality Assurance Certification

On Thursday, March 16, 2023 @ 5:30 p.m., the Evangeline Parish Cattleman’s Association, and the LSU AgCenter will host a Louisiana Beef Quality Assurance Certification (BQA) for all area cattle producers.   “Beef Quality Assurance is a nationally coordinated, state implemented program that provides systematic information to U.S. beef producers and beef consumers of how common-sense husbandry techniques can be coupled with accepted scientific knowledge to raise cattle under optimum management and environmental conditions.

Read More
Livestockkristen oaks
Producers Have Until March 15 To Enroll In USDA"s Key Commodity Safety Net Programs
Producers Have Until March 15 To Enroll In USDA"s Key Commodity Safety Net Programs

Alexandria, Louisiana, March 02, 2023 – Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2023 crop year have until March 15, 2023, to elect and enroll a contract. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers these two safety net programs to provide vital income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in crop prices or revenues.  

Read More
USDAdon molino
2022 The Third Costliest Disaster Year On Record
2022 The Third Costliest Disaster Year On Record

2022 will go into the record books as the third-costliest year for weather disasters in U.S. history, with an estimated $165 billion in total economic losses. In the agriculture sector, new analysis by AFBF economists in the latest Market Intel shows extreme weather caused more than $21 billion in crop losses. The impact to America’s farms and ranches demonstrates the importance of farm bill programs to help rural communities recover from weather-related disasters.

Read More
American Farm Bureaudon molino