Category Archives: News

Applications are being accepted for the USDA/1890 National Scholars Program that offers scholarships to students attending one of the 1890 historically black land-grant universities and pursuing a degree in agriculture. Each award provides annual tuition, room and board, books and … Continue reading →

A USDA grant is supporting additional education and training for beginning farmers at Virginia Tech. The $740,000 grant will help build a coalition of organizations that will help beginning farmers enter and expand markets that will enhance the viability of … Continue reading →

U.S. Farmers harvested the third largest crop on record during the 2010 growing season, according to the USDA Crop Production 2010 Summary report. The report, which was released this week, showed corn production down 5 percent from last year’s record … Continue reading →

USDA officials are assessing the damage of thousands of acres of crops hit by a series of freezes that covered the Sunshine State late last year. About 13,800 acres are estimated to be a total loss along with 5,250 jobs … Continue reading →

Sign-up for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program opens today, Jan. 10, for farmers and ranchers who suffered losses caused by natural disasters during the 2009 crop year. “SURE is part of the safety net that assists farmers and … Continue reading →

States are spending millions of dollars to preserve America’s farmland, despite tough economic times. The goal is to stop the rapid loss of land to development and to make sure food is available locally should the national supply be disrupted. … Continue reading →

The Farm Service Agency has issued a final rule that will help eliminate waste and abuse of farm program payments. “With this final rule we are codifying improvements that have allowed the FSA to reduce the error rate in the … Continue reading →

Sugar beet growers aren’t sure what to do once the spring planting season comes in. A lawsuit by environmental groups was successful in getting a judge to halt the planting of the genetically altered sugar beet seed until USDA completed … Continue reading →

The USDA Risk Management Agency issued a proposed rule today that would reward good performance from farmers participating in the federal crop insurance program. Based on the proposed program, farmers and ranchers who have limited or no losses would receive … Continue reading →

Farm products, including grain, oilseed and feed, will bring higher prices this year, according to USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber. But farmers also will have to pay more for what it takes to produce these products. Despite the increase, a … Continue reading →