USDA launched the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Program today, which will help agricultural producers adjust to challenging economic conditions. "As we work to help rural America recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Program will create new opportunities for producers hurt by import competition," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Eligible producers will receive much-needed technical assistance and cash benefits to help them adjust to the current economic environment." Learn more.

Applications for a grant program designed to help fund access to healthy nutritious food by improving and expanding domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs and other producer-to-consumer market opportunities, are now available online. The Farmers Market Promotion Program will offer $5 million in competitive grants for fiscal year 2010. Applications must be received by the April 15 deadline. Review the guidelines.

The USDA Commodity Credit Corporation, which helps stabilize, support and protect farm income and prices, released interest rates for March. The borrowing rate-based charge is 0.375, unchanged from February, while the 1996 and subsequent crop year commodity and marketing assistance loans dispersed during March is 1.375 percent, also unchanged from last month. Interest rates for Farm Storage Facility Loans and discount rates for the Tobacco Transition Payment Program also are available. Read more.

Researchers from USDA’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory may have found a way to use biochar — a charcoal-like material produced when biomass is burned under low oxygen conditions so the materials do not combust — as a clean fuel source as well as a way to improve soil condition and capture carbon that could be released into the atmosphere. (Seattle Post Intelligencer). Read more or learn more about USDA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program.

A Florida bio-energy plant has found a way to process horse manure into renewable energy, organic soil and bio-fertilizer, giving the state’s equine industry an efficient method of disposing of animal waste. The project, funded through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, produces enough electricity to meet the needs of the bio-energy plant and provide energy to a nearby livestock pavilion. The organic soil and bio-fertilizer will be bagged and marketed to local nurseries. (Southeast Farm Press) Read more.

During a visit to The New School in New York City yesterday, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced that USDA is accepting applications for competitive grants from the Farmers Market Promotion Program. About $5 million in grant money has been made available by the agency to help fund access to healthy nutritious food by improving and expanding domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs and other producer-to-consumer market opportunities. Learn more.

A year after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced The People’s Garden Initiative, similar gardens — like the one in Washington, DC — are blooming across the United States. Coordinated by Farm Service Agency volunteers, the program encourages communities to set up gardens with the goal of supporting local food banks, soup kitchens and offering families a chance to watch food grow. (Capital Press) Read the article.