Category Archives: News

Members of USDA's Minority Farmer Advisory Committee will meet for the first time on Aug. 11-12 to discuss efforts to increase minority participation in department programs and services. The establishment of this committee builds upon existing cultural transformation initiatives underway … Continue reading →

Valman Cummins, FSA chief learning officer (left) presented the Gold Award to FSA Administrator Bruce Nelson for having the highest number of AgLearn course completions of any USDA agency. The Farm Service Agency was recently awarded the Gold Award for outstanding achievement … Continue reading →

The Farm Service Agency has made changes to its Conservation Reserve Program policies to help producers affected by ongoing drought conditions. The changes extend the emergency grazing period through Oct. 31, 2011. Generally, land enrolled in CRP cannot be used … Continue reading →

The Office of Personnel Management has announced the dates for the 2012 federal benefits open season. Eligible employees and current enrollees can join, change plans or types of coverage in the Federal Employee Health Benefits or FEDVIP (dental and vision … Continue reading →

Applications are now being accepted for a People’s Garden Grant Program designed to facilitate the creation of produce, recreation or wildlife gardens in urban and rural areas. The gardens will provide opportunities for science-based informal education. About $750,000 is available … Continue reading →

Federal employees can breathe a temporary sigh of relief as spending cuts set as part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling will not affect federal pay and benefits. But the deal isn’t totally off of the table. As … Continue reading →

Today is the last day that farmer and ranchers can apply for assistance for 2009 crop losses under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program. SURE provides crop disaster assistance to eligible producers that have suffered crop production or quality … Continue reading →

More help is on the way for producers.  In an announcement today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said a high demand for farm ownership and direct farm operating funds has prompted USDA to transfer appropriated funds between programs to meet the … Continue reading →

The latest edition of the MIDAS Press newsletter highlights the recent progress made over the past few months. The top story focuses on demo presentations provided by the MIDAS team to provide a better understanding of how FSA data and … Continue reading →

Federal retirement benefits and paychecks are almost certain to take a hit with the passage of any deficit reduction deal, according to John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. Although the details are sketchy right now, … Continue reading →