USDA Aligns Mad Cow Disease Regulation with International Health Standards

Posted on November 5, 2013 by tanya brown

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has finalized import regulations for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. The final rule bases BSE regulations on internationally accepted scientific literature and standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health. The regulation allows for the safe trade of bovines and bovine products, while protecting the United States from the disease. This measure doesn’t change safeguards currently in place in the United States, but allows USDA to use the same criteria and categories as the World Organization for Animal Health to identify a country’s BSE risk status. Learn more or read the Q&As.

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FSA Resumes 2013 Commodity Loan Disbursements

Posted on November 1, 2013 by tanya brown

The Farm Service Agency has resumed disbursement of 2013 crop commodity loans. The loan provides interim financing to producers for agricultural commodities stored after harvest and then sold throughout the year.   “We must comply with the laws established by Congress in accordance with sequestration policy,” said FSA Administrator Juan Garcia.  “We regret the delay this has created in USDA issuing marketing assistance loans because we know how critical the loans are to farmers’ cash flows at this time of year.” Producers receiving the loans will have a 5.1 percent reduction to the loan amount upon its disbursement, due to sequestration. Learn more.

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Man Jailed for Passing off Empty Bin as 54,000 Bushels of Soybeans

Posted on November 1, 2013 by tanya brown

A North Carolina man was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for lying about how many bushels of soybeans he had. William L. Whaley, Jr., pleaded guilty to making false statements in connection with USDA Commodity Credit Corporation loan. Whaley took out a loan for $272,986.56 and used the bushels of soybeans as collateral. When USDA employees went to Whaley’s farm to verify the quantity, he tried to pass off an empty bin as 54,000 bushels of soybeans. Read more (WNCN).

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Today is Last Day Dairy Producers Can Submit MILC Documentation for Nov. 1 Deadline

Posted on November 1, 2013 by tanya brown

Dairy producers participating in the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program must submit final production evidence and any supporting documentation by today, Nov. 1, 2013. Documentation must be submitted for all eligible months that MILC payments were available, which include fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2012 and 1013. More information is available at local county offices. Learn more or find a local county office.

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Commodity Credit Corporation Releases Lending Rates for November

Posted on November 1, 2013 by tanya brown

The USDA Commodity Credit Corporation, which helps stabilize, support and protect farm income and prices, released interest rates for November 2013. The borrowing rate-based charge is 0.125, which is unchanged from October 2013, while the 1996 and subsequent crop year commodity and marketing assistance loans dispersed during November is 1.125, 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.

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Scientist Find Secret to Improving Taste of Tomatoes

Posted on October 31, 2013 by tanya brown

cov1013Researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service may have discovered ways for tomatoes to keep their fresh-from-the-garden taste. Scientist found that sugar and acid are the key characteristics in tomato varieties that determine the overall flavor. Although the amount of acid varied slightly, it was the amount of sugar that determined the flavor; the greater the ratio of sugar to acid, the sweeter the tomato. The sweeter the tomato, the more flavor it contained. The finding will provide a broad range of possibilities for breeders to adjust sugar levels and develop more flavorful tomatoes. Learn more.

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First-Ever Report Highlights Benefits of Agroforestry to Farmers, Ranchers

Posted on October 31, 2013 by tanya brown

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released the first-ever report on the department’s role in agroforestry. Agroforestry: USDA Reports to America highlights ways agroforestry practices help farmers and ranchers enhance agricultural productivity, protect the environment and increase profits. Agroforestry is a management approach that combines agriculture and forestry to create more sustainable land-use systems. Over the past five years, USDA has assisted landowners financially and with technical guidance to establish nearly 336,000 acres of windbreaks, riparian forest buffers and ally cropping; about 2,000 acres of silvopasture and about 500 acres of forest farming. Learn more or review the report.

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Honoring a Fallen Farmer

Posted on October 30, 2013 by tanya brown
Photograph by Matt Rubel

Photograph by Matt Rubel

Kyle Hendrix, chairman of the FSA Piatt County Committee, received a tribute fit for a farmer. Hendrix died of cancer on Sept. 23, 2013, leaving his wife and two young children. His life touched many farmers in Illinois that area producers paid tribute to his life by lining up nearly 60 tractors and other pieces of farm equipment alongside the road stretching from the edge of Bement, Ill., to the cemetery. The farmers also harvested Kyle’s crop to help the bereaved family. A photojournalist visiting the area at the time photographed the tribute. Read more and view the photos by Matt Rubel (Modern Farmer).

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Dairy Producers Must Submit MILC Documentation by Nov. 1

Posted on October 25, 2013 by tanya brown

Dairy producers participating in the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program must submit final production evidence and any supporting documentation by Nov. 1, 2013. Documentation must be submitted for all eligible months that MILC payments were available, which include fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2012 and 1013. More information is available at local county offices. Learn more about MILC or find a local county office.

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82-Year-Old Still Tills Land With Donkey

Posted on October 24, 2013 by tanya brown

Drive through Mars Bluff, S.C., and 82-year-old Clarence “Chubby” Jeffords may be out tilling his 20-acre farm the old fashioned way — with a donkey. Despite having two tractors, Chubby prefers hitching up a donkey he named Rabbit and putting him to work. Before that, he used an ox until it died. The traditional method of farming has made Chubby a main attraction in Mars Bluff, as passersby stop and take pictures of him and Rabbit tilling the land. Any given year, Chubby plants everything from cabbage and collards to squash, string beans and sugar cane. He lives off of his land that he has had since 1952 when he moved to Mars Bluff. The only reason he goes to the market is for a few household products. Read more (SCNow.com).

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