The Latest on the Agricultural Trade Front

Oct 09, 2018 08:29 AM

Agricultural exports have not yet provided the boost to farm income that U.S. farmers have been hoping for. Instead, they are now harvesting large crops this fall without knowing if their corn and soybeans will find buyers in overseas markets. USDA is already sending out checks under the Trade Mitigation Program to offset some of these losses.

Read More

A Brief Foray into Indian Country Agriculture

Sep 12, 2018 08:08 AM

Many Native Americans rely on farming and rancher as their main occupation, but USDA did not pay any attention to their needs until the last few decades. This prompted a class action lawsuit in 1999, which was settled in 2010. Final action taken under that case was the establishment of a Native American Agriculture Fund, designed to fund services to help Native American agriculture prosper.

Read More

Why Collaborate on Animal Disease Research?

Sep 05, 2018 12:46 PM

Livestock accounts for about 40 percent of the world's agricultural production by value, yet is vulnerable to the spread of zoonotic diseases, which cause the loss of at least 20 percent of livestock production globally. The U.S. government must continue to invest in research addressing these diseases, both domestically and in cooperation with international partners.

Read More

Improving Food Safety Through Better Information

Aug 28, 2018 11:11 AM

The incidence of foodborne illness in the United States leads to the hospitalization of 128,000 people and the death of 3,000 Americans every year, costing the economy nearly $78 billion. Broader adoption of new information technology, such as blockchain and low-cost IOT sensors in the food and agribusiness sector, can reduce the frequency of foodborne illness outbreaks.

Read More

Agricultural Trade Disruption Assistance

Jul 26, 2018 10:24 AM

On July 24th, Agriculture Secretary Perdue announced a $12 billion package to help farmers whose incomes have been impacted by the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on their products. Few details were provided on how this package would be implemented.

Read More

The Senate Farm Bill--Part II

Jun 25, 2018 11:16 AM

This blog covers the remaining eight titles of the Senate version of the farm bill, due to be considered this week on the Senate floor.

Read More

The Senate Farm Bill-Part I

Jun 18, 2018 09:00 AM

The Senate Agriculture Committee reported out its version of the farm bill on June 13th, with floor consideration expected by the end of the month. This blog covers the highlights of the four largest titles--commodities, nutrition, conservation, and crop insurance.

Read More