Category Archives: News

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will host a national summit next month that will allow rural Americans the opportunity to share their vision for creating a more prosperous and promising future for rural America. The day-long event — which will be … Continue reading →

Milk producers want the government to stop soy milk and other items such as yogurt from being labeled with names borrowed from dairy products. “The FDA has allowed the meaning of milk to be watered down to the point where … Continue reading →

Klamath County in Oregon has been designated a primary natural disaster area by USDA due to continuous drought conditions and related disasters. “This action will provide help to producers who suffered significant production losses,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Several … Continue reading →

USDA has designated seven counties in Texas as natural disaster areas due to excessive rain, flooding and flash flooding that occurred last May through December. Several other Texas counties as well as five counties in Oklahoma also are eligible for … Continue reading →

The USDA Commodity Credit Corporation, which helps stabilize, support and protect farm income and prices, released interest rates for May. The borrowing rate-based charge is 0.500, up from 0.375 in April, while the 1996 and subsequent crop year commodity and … Continue reading →

The BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico that is adding 5,000 barrels of crude oil a day to the waterways could disrupt the largest grain-shipping port in the U.S. More than half of the grain inspected for export … Continue reading →

This year’s corn season is off and running with record-setting planting, according to USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey. Nationally, about 50 percent of the crop is already in the ground, making this year one to contend with the reigning 2004 national … Continue reading →

USDA is seeking nominations for the Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers. The committee — which is composed of no more than 15 members — provides recommendations on outreach and assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, methods to maximize participation … Continue reading →

The Commodity Credit Corporation released county loan rates today for the 2010 wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, soybeans and other oilseed crops. The national loan rates reflect increases for wheat, barley, oats and other oilseed relative to the corresponding … Continue reading →

Last year’s disastrous decline in milk prices caused dairy producers to cut their herds to help bring prices back up. Yet, according to the most recent USDA Milk Production Report, herd numbers are starting to increase along with milk production, … Continue reading →