USDA Awards $300 Million to Diversify Export Markets for U.S. Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is allocating $300 million to 66 U.S. organizations, under the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), to build demand for American food and farm exports in high-potential markets around the globe.
Secretary Vilsack launched RAPP in October 2023, authorizing $1.2 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funding to help U.S. exporters expand their customer base beyond traditional and established markets, focusing on regions such as Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South and Southeast Asia, where consumer demand and purchasing power are growing.
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Several Commodity Groups Praise House Ag Bill, but Not NSAC
Sugar, soybean and rice growers, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the crop insurance industry on Monday issued statements praising the farm bill discussion draft released Friday by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., but the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition vigorously criticized it.
Neil Rockstad, a Minnesota sugarbeet grower who is president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, and Patrick Frischhertz, a Louisiana sugarcane grower and eighth-generation farmer, said, “We thank the House Agriculture Committee for the strengthened U.S. sugar policy contained in this bill which will help ensure that America’s 11,000 sugar beet and sugarcane farmers and our workers can continue producing an essential ingredient in our food supply, maintain resilient supply chains, and meet the needs of American families and all of our customers.”
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Lafargue Elementary Teacher Wins Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Award
Chantelle Hataway, a third-grade teacher at Lafargue Elementary School in Avoyelles Parish, has been named the 2024 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. The program recognizes educators who effectively integrate agriculture into their core curriculum.
Hataway's passion for agriculture shines through in her classroom. "I was raised on a farm," she says. "My daddy raised cattle. We had chickens, we had pigs...That was our way of life."
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AFBF Calls For House Agriculture Committee Passage Of Farm Bill
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm, Food, and National Security Act.
“AFBF appreciates Chairman G.T. Thompson for his work in drafting a modernized farm bill, which we support. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act recognizes the challenges and opportunities facing America’s farmers and ranchers.
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Soybean Request for Referendum to Begin May 2024
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct the Soybean Request for Referendum May 6 through May 31, 2024, in county Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices.
The Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act requires USDA to conduct a Request for Referendum every five years to determine if producers want to vote on continuation of the Soybean Checkoff Program. The last Request for Referendum was conducted in 2019.
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Legislation, Potential Farm Bill Provision to Address Mexico Water Issue
U.S. Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz introduced legislation designed to help farmers and ranchers in South Texas impacted by Mexico’s failure to deliver the water it owes the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty.
The lack of water and uncertainty led to the closure of Texas’ only remaining sugar mill earlier this year as sugarcane growers cannot produce a crop without irrigation water.
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June 25 Field Day Will Showcase LSU AgCenter Rice Research
The LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station will open its doors to visitors June 25 for its 115th annual field day, where research projects aimed at developing new rice varieties, managing pests and improving other aspects of production will be showcased.
The event will include tours of research plots along with a scientific poster session, trade show, indoor presentations and lunch. Field tours will start at 7 a.m., with the last wagon departing no later than 8:30 a.m.
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USA Rice On-Hand As Trade Advances & Cuban Private Sector Expands
Last week, USA Rice participated in the U.S.-Cuba Agriculture Business Conference organized by the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba with the hope of furthering engagement between U.S. rice exporters and Cuban importers.
USA Rice met with private companies, agricultural cooperatives, and Alimport, the government agency that imports agricultural goods (and used to be the only entity authorized to do so). As Cuba is economically transitioning from state socialism to a mixed economy, the private sector is being developed and able to import U.S. goods. Additionally, last month the Cuban government authorized agricultural cooperatives to import and export.
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Mississippi Man Arrested For Timber Theft In Louisiana
On May 10, 2024, Kenan Shotwell Gwinn of Natchez, MS, was arrested in Catahoula Parish for theft of timber following an investigation by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Forestry Enforcement Division.
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AFBF Appreciates Release of House Farm Bill Text
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the release of a farm bill draft in the House Agriculture Committee.
“AFBF appreciates the work of Chairman Thompson and the entire House Agriculture Committee for its work in drafting a new, modernized farm bill.
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Congresswoman Julia Letlow and Senator John Kennedy Introduce the Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act
Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05) and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act. This bill will amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide increased and more flexible insurance coverage for farmers who have experienced crop quality loss.
The policies existing in the current Federal Crop Insurance Act do not always provide farmers with the flexibility that is needed for the often unpredictable crop quality losses. Soybean farms in particular have been significantly impacted by quality loss issues.
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Louisiana Tech, USDA/Forestry Service Collaboration to Benefit Students, Industry
Louisiana Tech University students and the state’s forestry industry are set to benefit from the recent planting of a seed that’s sure to grow.
Representatives of the University’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences (CANS) and the US Department of AgricultureForest Service, Southern Research Station (USDA-FS-SRS) have signed a letter of intent regarding both a shared commitment to forest sector-based research and a collaboration between the two entities regarding the University’s on-the-horizon Forest Products Innovation Center.
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US and Cuba Discuss Trade for Rice and Poultry
Agriculture Commissioner Mike strain is at the U.S. Agriculture Business Conference in Havana, Cuba to connect US rice and poultry exporters with potential Cuba importers. Strain says the country is in desperate need of food and that need continues to climb.
“Their going to import over $2 billion worth of food. Right now here in the United States we export about $300 million of that, but that could go up to half a billion or more.”
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OKFB Members Learn About Louisiana Agriculture During 2024 OKFB Ag Tour
More than 60 Oklahoma Farm Bureau members learned about the spicy, savory and sweet Louisiana agriculture industry during the 2024 OKFB Ag Tour May 6-9 to Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.
The tour featured two days of stops and visits to farms, agribusinesses and cultural destinations in southwest Louisiana near Lafayette.
Members arrived on Monday, May 6, with a welcome dinner and meeting with Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau members and leaders at the parish Farm Bureau office. The local Farm Bureau planned the tour stops for OKFB members with numerous visits at local Farm Bureau members’ farms and ranches.
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Kennedy Introduces Bill to Help Louisiana Farmers Recover from Crop Loss
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced the Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act. The bill would give farmers more flexibility by improving the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC)’s ability to set discounts for farmers who experience crop loss.
“Too often, federal insurers give American farmers short shrift when regional disasters damage their crops. The Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act would make sure that fickle government policies don’t control the fate of Louisiana’s soybean farmers,” said Kennedy.
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