Category Archives: News

An entire week that pays homage to American farmers markets kicks off on Monday. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has declared Aug. 1-7 as National Farmers Market Week, giving further awareness to the contributions farmers make in the day-to-day lives of … Continue reading →

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have given farmworkers overtime pay just like other hourly employees in California. Currently, farmworkers earn time-and-a-half after working 10 hours. The bill would have allowed the workers to receive overtime pay after … Continue reading →

Producers interested in submitting nominations for local Farm Service Agency County Committees only have a few days to do so. County committees help local farmers by making decisions on commodity price support loans, conservation programs and disaster programs, and by … Continue reading →

USDA will launch a general sign-up next month that will give farmers and ranchers a chance to offer their land to help protect millions of acres of topsoil from erosion and improve the nation’s natural resources. Producers enrolling in the Conservation Reserve … Continue reading →

A People’s Garden in Springfield, Ill., donated more than 700 pounds of produce to a regional food bank this week. Loads of sweet corn, green beans, summer squash, green peppers and tomatoes were donated to the Central Illinois Foodbank that … Continue reading →

A report of foreign holdings of U.S. agricultural land shows that foreign people own 1.7 percent of all privately held U.S. agricultural land and 0.98 percent of all land in the United States. That’s a 1.3 million acre increase from … Continue reading →

David E. Kessel was buried Wednesday, July 21, on his family farm in West Virginia.  The 51-year-old Farm Service Agency farm loan manager from Martinsburg, W.Va., was killed last week while traveling to meet one of his farm-loan clients.  FSA … Continue reading →

It used to be that farmers would solicit restaurants to use their fresh fruits and vegetables. Today, more and more restaurants are seeking out local farmers to not only provide everyday vegetables, but plant and grow specialty items like cardoons … Continue reading →

USDA has named York County in Pennsylvania a primary natural disaster area due to losses caused by a storm and hail that destroyed fruit crops and wheat. Other counties in Pennsylvania also qualify for emergency assistance as well as several counties … Continue reading →

Farm workers in California along with Senator Dean Florez hand delivered a bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office yesterday that would allow farm workers to earn overtime pay after eight hours of work. Currently, they only earn overtime after 10 … Continue reading →