Category Archives: News

USDA took the first step in modernizing its technology infrastructure, which will ultimately improve delivery of benefits and services to producers. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that SRA International of Fairfax, Va., has been contracted to modernize the Farm Service … Continue reading →

Americans concerned that the new health care law won’t lower medical costs or insurance premiums need to take a look at the agricultural industry, according to Detroit Free Press Columnist Brian Dickerson. More than a century ago, the government tamed … Continue reading →

Completing the 2010 Census is important to farmers and ranchers, according to National Agriculture Statistics Service Administrator Cynthia Clark. The 10-question survey is vital to rural areas because funding for food, roads and farms are allocated by population. The census … Continue reading →

Housing developers, who are known for taking over farmland to build planned communities, are now placing farms back into its development plans. The latest trend being offered to residents of new subdivisions is a working farm, giving homeowners access to … Continue reading →

An executive directive by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom requires all city departments to conduct an audit of unused land that could be converted into gardens. So far, the public library has planted gardens in two of its branches along … Continue reading →

Pesticides may be to blame in a 4-year mystery of disappearing honeybees, according to a new study published in the Public Library of Science journal. Bees have been declining in the past decade, but in 2006, colony collapse disorder was … Continue reading →

Nearly $8.6 million in grants is available to farmers for training opportunities in risk management. The announcement, made today by the USDA Risk Management Agency, will provide limited-resource and underserved farmers and ranchers educational opportunities that will help them manage … Continue reading →

Dukes and Nantucket Counties have been designated by USDA as natural disaster areas due to excessive rainfall that began last May and continues to cause further damage. Producers in Barnstable County also qualify for natural disaster assistance because it is … Continue reading →

Statisticians at the USDA Agricultural Statistics Service are working to ensure accuracy of the surveys submitted by farmers detailing how much of what crops they plan on planting this year. Nearly 77,000 farmers were chosen to complete the survey and … Continue reading →

The USDA has designated eight counties in Kansas as natural disaster areas due to losses from prevented planting caused by frost, excessive rain, flooding and flash flooding. Producers in eight other Kansas counties along with contiguous counties in Missouri and … Continue reading →