Category Archives: News

Federal pay raises and bonuses are on a short leash. A memo issued last month by Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry told agencies not to give within-grade step increases to employees who are rated lower than fully successful. … Continue reading →

The Florida orange forecast for the 2010-11 growing season was reduced to 139 million boxes, but still remains above the 133.6 million produced in 2009-10. According to a report by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, grapefruit production remains at … Continue reading →

Farmer and ranchers applying for assistance for 2009 crop losses under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program have a little more than two weeks to submit an application. SURE provides crop disaster assistance to eligible producers that have suffered … Continue reading →

American farmers are planting more genetically engineered varieties of soybeans, cotton and corn as opposed to conventional and organic seed, according to a report by the USDA Economic Research Service. The use of genetically engineered corn increased to 88 percent … Continue reading →

The development of the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant could bring nearly $14 million in new revenue to Iowa farmers. Announced today by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Project LIBERTY will produce up to 25 million gallons of ethanol … Continue reading →

The drought that has overtaken most of the south is having a profound impact on the cotton crop, according to USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey. The situation is desperate in Oklahoma where 43 percent of the cotton was rated very poor … Continue reading →

Farmer and ranchers applying for assistance for 2009 crop losses under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program have until July 29 to submit an application. SURE provides crop disaster assistance to eligible producers that have suffered crop production or … Continue reading →

The USDA Commodity Credit Corporation, which helps stabilize, support and protect farm income and prices, released interest rates for July 2011. The borrowing rate-based charge is 0.125, which is down from 0.250 from June 2011, while the 1996 and subsequent … Continue reading →

Emergency grazing for land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program has been approved for eight Colorado counties. "This authorization provides relief for many Colorado livestock producers who have suffered through severe drought conditions," said Trudy Kareus, FSA state executive director. … Continue reading →

Texas cotton farmers may opt to make crop insurance claims rather than harvest cotton as the worst drought in more than a century continues to plague the state. “This year will probably rank among the top abandonments,” said John Robinson, … Continue reading →