As the world celebrates Earth Day, one Washington farmer is going about his daily routine — a routine that makes everyday Earth Day. “I’m a farmer,” said Jim Werkhoven, who farms about 800 acres and owns 1,000 dairy cows. “So every day is kind of Earth Day.” Werkhoven flushes the cow barns several times daily with recycled water and uses cow waste as fertilizer or turns it into methane gas through a digester to create electricity that is used in the county’s power grid. Read more (HeraldNet.com).

USDA is seeking public comment as it reviews existing programs, including Farm Service Agency programs, to determine if they should be modified, streamlined or repealed in order to improve access. The department is focusing on areas where it can decrease the reporting burden for entry and access to USDA programs while reducing costs. Comments must be submitted by May 20. Read more or submit comments.

Producers and landowners interested in participating in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program have one month left to submit a proposal. BCAP provides incentives to farmers, ranchers and landowners to produce biomass crops for heat, power, biobased products and biofuels. Proposals are being accepted for certain geographic project areas and must be received by the May 27 deadline. Learn more or access the submission form.

County loan rates for the 2011 crops of wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, soybeans and other oilseeds have been announced. The rates are: $2.94 per bushel for wheat; $1.95 per bushel for corn; $1.95 per bushel for grain sorghum; $1.95 per bushel for barley; $1.39 per bushel for oats; $5 per bushel for soybeans and $10.09 per hundredweight for each “other oilseed.” Read more.   

A 105-year-old farmer has lost three of his homes and several other buildings wildfires continue to burn through thousands of acres in West Texas. The fire also burned through 162 square miles of N.L. Winter’s 1,400 acre estate. Winter’s 99-year-old wife also lost the home where she once lived for 46 years. Read more (Associated Press).

American agriculture could be in trouble if the program used to bring migrant farm workers to the U.S. isn’t streamlined, according to members of the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. The H-2A visa program was created in the late 1980s due to an increase in labor needs. The program allowed non-U.S. residents to legally work on farms and ranches across the nation. Some committee members felt that if the visa process is not expedited, then there will be a crisis in agriculture. Read more (CNN).

Producers interested in offering land in an effort to protect millions of acres of topsoil from erosion and improve the nation’s natural resources, have until Friday, April 15, to do so.

The Conservation Reserve Program has protected the nation’s natural resources since 1985. In March 1986, the first CRP contract was signed, igniting a movement that has helped reduce soil erosion by 622 million tons, provided natural habitats for wildlife, restored more than 2 million acres of wetlands and removed millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air.

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Soil erosion is becoming a major problem in Iowa, according to a study by an environmental group using data compiled by University of Iowa scientists. Heavy rainstorms that hit the area over the past few years have eroded more soil than the U.S. government has deemed sustainable. This has officials concerned that the state won’t be able to continue growing corn and other crops in the rich, dark soil that was once envied around the world. Read more (Des Moines Register).