Tag: USDA
Troubled USDA food box program canceled
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program launched last spring at the height of the pandemic with the best of intentions, but things went awry almost as soon as the program began. The program will end in May, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week.
Markets, spring weather look promising for farmers
Grain farmers are cautiously optimistic about the outlook for 2021, following a strange 2020. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Prospective Plantings report, released March 31, said corn planted in 2021 is estimated to be about 91.1 million acres, up less than 1% from 2020. Soybean acreage is expected to be about 87.6 million acres, up about 5% from last year.
USDA announces more pandemic relief for farmers
The USDA will dedicate at least $6 billion to the new USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers, and will also distribute aid that was put on hold or newly allocated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
USDA offering disaster assistance for winter storms
Technical and financial assistance is available to help Ohio farmers and livestock producers recover from damages caused by winter storms Uri and Viola.
Vilsack confirmed as agriculture secretary
The U.S. Senate approved Tom Vilsack for another round as the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Feb. 23. Vilsack's supporters referenced his previous eight years as the Secretary of Agriculture under the Obama administration.
USDA suspends foreclosures and debt collections on some farm loans
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is temporarily suspending foreclosures and past-due debt collections for distressed borrowers under two FSA loan programs
Family farms still rule US but non-family farms growing
Family farms still make up 96% of all U.S. farms, but the number of non-family farms is climbing. The number of non-family farms grew 18% from 2012 to 2017.
US releases new dietary guidelines
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans Dec. 29. These guidelines will be the basis for national health objectives, food assistance and meal programs and nutrition education efforts until the next edition of the guidelines comes out in 2025.
Biden expected to pick Vilsack as ag secretary
Tom Vilsack, who served as agriculture secretary for eight years during the Obama Administration, will be nominated to return during President-elect Joe Biden’s upcoming administration, the Associated Press and several other media outlets reported Dec. 8.
Government payments drive possible highest net farm income since 2013
The pandemic has turned the farm economy on its head this year. With direct government payments up drastically, net farm income for 2020 is projected to be the highest it’s been since 2013, according to a Dec. 2 Farm Income Forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
