U.S. Department of Agriculture
The expansion would add 1,255 counties for soybeans and 1,729 counties for corn, making the coverage available in 22 states for soybeans with 34 states being covered in total.
USDA’s 2023 Prospective Plantings report released March 31 shows farmers intend to plant significantly more corn acres in 2023. At nearly 92 million acres, that’s a jump of 3.42 million acres from last year.
According to USDA, this funding was made available to help struggling rural communities “recover economically” and offer more market opportunities, improve infrastructure and protect farmland.
Just ahead of USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, the largest cotton growing state in the U.S. is seeing another year of drought, and with fields resembling the Dust Bowl, crop prospects are dwindling by the day.
This round is for those who were delinquent on a direct loan as of Sept. 2020, restricted a loan after Feb. 2020 through FSA, or those who owe more interest on a direct loan than the level of the principal.
Industry experts say the new legislative package represents a ‘generational opportunity’ for conservation funding and needs to reach U.S. farmers and livestock producers sooner rather than later, starting this spring.
USDA’s Equity Commission recently recommended sweeping changes across the entire government agency. What can farmers expect to see?
To put cover crop investments in motion, NRCS would draw on federal, state and private conservationists to hire “thousands” of employees for rural America.
Several federal agencies are working together on competition issues in the seed sector as part of a broader Biden administration push to enhance competition in agriculture.
By requesting consultations, the U.S. Trade Representative began a process to come to a settlement on ag biotechnology imports to Mexico. If a settlement is not reached, the issue will move to a full-blown trade dispute.