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 Program on Aug. 2 plant long-term, resource-conserving covers in exchange for rental payments, cost-share and technical assistance. “America’s farmers and ranchers have made great strides to improve the environment and this administration is committed to assisting their ongoing stewardship efforts to enhance soil, water and air,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Read more or listen to Secretary Vilsack's CRP media conference.

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 services 21 pantries and nearly 17,500 clients in central Illinois counties. There are 54 People’s Gardens in Illinois and 495 nationwide. Read the article or learn more about the People’s Garden Initiative.

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 2008. The report, released yesterday, contains statistics through Feb. 28, 2009, regarding the 22.2 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in which foreign people hold an interest. Review the report.

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 is saddened by his loss. The agency sends its sincerest sympathies to his wife, Tammy, and their three children.

We post this story about Mr. Kessel in tribute to his 24 years with FSA.  We thank Mr. Marshall and his paper for giving us permission to reproduce his story in Mr. Kessel’s honor. Read the story and FSA’s condolences to the family.

Dave touched the lives of so many farmers that some of them paid tribute to him along the highway to his final resting place on his family’s farm.

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 and spigarelli. Yet, according to Jim Barber, state executive director of the Farm Service Agency in New York and owner of Barber Farms, smaller farms may benefit from selling in a farmers market for immediate cash than extending restaurants credit for 30 days. (The New York Times) Read more.  

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 in Maryland because they are contiguous to York. Learn more.

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 hours of work. Yet agribusiness warns that farmers operate on slim margins and may cut hours to keep payroll costs down. That will mean small paychecks for workers making $9 to $10 an hour. (ABC7.com) Read more.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has asked the White House for “flexibility” in cutting five percent of USDA’s discretionary spending. The request comes in an effort to cut mandatory farm programs in fiscal year 2012 instead making the entire cut in discretionary programs, according to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan in a speech to the American Soybean Association board. According to Merrigan, cost-cutting is difficult since 70 percent of the USDA budget goes toward nutrition programs including food stamps and school meals. (AgWeek) Read more.