Agriculture

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Brundy, an alfalfa grower in California's Imperial Valley, thinks farmers reliant on the shrinking Colorado River can do more to save water and use it more efficiently. That's why he's installed water sensors and monitors to prevent waste... Read More

WASHINGTON — Two high profile ex-U.S. senators are urging those crafting the next farm bill to implement “strategic changes” at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will help more farmers and forest landowners embrace conservation and resiliency practices. Former Sens.... Read More

ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged Congress on Thursday to use the upcoming farm bill reauthorization as an opportunity to encourage America’s farmers to diversify and “create multiple profit centers” in their farming operations. Speaking at the... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has nominated Xochitl Torres Small to serve as deputy secretary of Agriculture.  Small currently serves as the under secretary for rural development. Her promotion comes as the department prepares to enter into negotiations with Congress... Read More

WASHINGTON — International sales of U.S. farm and food products reached $196 billion last year, shattering the previous export record set in 2021. According to the Commerce Department, which released final 2022 trade data this week, U.S. agricultural exports increased... Read More

NEW YORK — Animal rights advocates urged Congress on Tuesday to enshrine more humane practices for raising livestock in the 2023 Farm Bill. In an 8-page paper, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals argues several critical... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service is developing new tests and tools to identify and track the coronavirus and its variants in wild and domestic animals. The initiative, part of a $300 million provision in the... Read More

WASHINGTON — Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is looking for answers after a rupture in the Keystone Pipeline released nearly 588,000 gallons of oil into a Kansas waterway. The Dec. 7 spill was... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $9.5 million to support the scale-up of sustainable bioproduct manufacturing in the United States. The three projects being funded through the department’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture included two university-based... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bicameral group of lawmakers led by Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and Jared Huffman, D-Calif., in the House and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., are urging the U.S. Agriculture Department to provide emergency assistance to organic dairy and chicken... Read More

TUSKEGEE, Ala. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $325 million in 71 projects being undertaken under its Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative. With this latest funding, announced Monday, the department has invested a total $3.1 billion in 141... Read More

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt —  Among the most well-attended of the panel discussions held last week at the U.N.-sponsored COP27 climate talks was one focused on the challenges of decoupling food production from fossil fuels without diminishing food security. Held on... Read More

PALMERSTON NORTH, New Zealand (AP) — How do you stop a cow from burping? It might sound like the start of a humorous riddle, but it's the subject of a huge scientific inquiry in New Zealand. And the answer could... Read More

WASHINGTON — The American Farm Bureau Federation has released its priorities for what will no doubt be the most consequential legislation for agriculture in 2023 — renewal of the farm bill.  The priorities, published earlier this month, were drafted by... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators on Friday urged the Environmental Protection Agency to use its upcoming decision on the Renewable Fuel Standard to “chart a new course for biofuels” to meet the nation’s “diverse energy demands.” In a... Read More

CHURDAN, Iowa (AP) — In the 1970s when George Naylor said he wanted to grow organic crops, the idea didn't go over well. Back then organic crops were an oddity, destined for health food stores or maybe a few farmers... Read More

MINNEHAHA COUNTY, S.D. — Brightmark RNG Holdings — a joint venture partnership between Chevron U.S.A. Inc., and Brightmark Fund Holdings — has delivered its first gas created from the methane-rich manure of dairy cows. The Athena Project comprises three farms:... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services is launching a new online tool to help communities gauge the extent pollution is contributing to health risks for their residents. It is intended primarily to benefit residents of disadvantaged communities.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to propose 2023 renewable fuel volume requirements by Nov. 16, and finalize them no later than June 14, 2023, to settle a lawsuit over delays in setting the totals under the Renewable... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking steps to reduce the economic risks associated with so-called double cropping, or raising two crops on the same land in one year.  Working with its Risk Management Agency, the USDA is... Read More

CLINTON, Maine — A subsidiary of Summit Utilities in Maine has broken ground on an  anaerobic dairy digester that it says will turn daily shipments of cow manure from area dairies into a biogas that can then be used to... Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Global rice production contributes at least 10% of agricultural greenhouse gas annually, but one Nashville-based sustainable land use management company is incentivizing farmers to produce carbon-neutral rice in the American southwest. AgriCapture is working with rice farmers... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration made two significant moves aimed at supporting the biofuel industry. The first of these moves came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which announced on Friday that it will provide $700 million to help lower... Read More

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an agriculture omnibus bill into law on Thursday that provides relief to farmers for drought and other climate change related challenges, while also investing in broadband and a wide range of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Many Americans desperately seeking baby formula have experienced empty shelves over the last few months. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture is increasing efforts to restock those shelves, especially for low-income families where the impact of the shortage... Read More

OVID, Colo. (AP) — Shortly after daybreak on the high plains of northeastern Colorado, Don Schneider tinkers with seed-dispensing gear on a mammoth corn planter. The day’s task: Carefully sowing hundreds of acres of seed between long rows of last... Read More

WASHINGTON — Abbott Nutrition on Friday committed to continue providing rebates in states with which it holds Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children contracts through August 31 in a bid to ease the ongoing baby formula crisis.... Read More

WASHINGTON — While manufacturing and industry processes are cited as responsible for emitting the most greenhouse gases, food systems also account for a hefty portion — 31% — of global emissions, and the U.S. and China, as food superpowers, are... Read More

KANKAKEE, Ill. — President Joe Biden is blaming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for supply chain disruptions that are causing yield-impairing fertilizer shortages and driving up food prices. The war’s repercussions have sent international food prices to record highs, according to... Read More

WASHINGTON — The FBI issued a warning this week to farm cooperatives that ransomware attackers are increasingly trying to disrupt their operations during the planting and harvest seasons. The FBI announcement was one of several warnings about cyberattacks that are... Read More