The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $383 million disaster relief bill on Thursday that provides political shelter for lawmakers during the worst drought in half a century, but may not release the aid for months to come. Nearly two-thirds of the continental United States, including prime ranch and farm territory, is in the grip
House passes $383 million us drought aid bill for ranchers
Standoff looms over U.S. plans to cut GMO oversight
Efforts to write benefits for biotech seed companies into U.S. legislation, including the 2013 Farm Bill, are sparking a backlash from groups that say the multiple measures would severely limit U.S. oversight of genetically modified crops. From online petitions to face-to-face lobbying on Capitol Hill, an array of consumer and environmental organizations and individuals are
USDA jolts traders with sharp cut to corn estimate
The worst Midwest drought in a quarter century is doing more damage to U.S. crops than widely believed, already shrinking corn yields to the lowest in nearly a decade, the government said on Wednesday. In a report that reignited a near-record rally in grain prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the crop will average
Looming political fight puts U.S. farmers on battlefield
Analysis: It usually takes a year to draft new Farm Bill but the cost of failure may be too high to bear
(Reuters) U.S. lawmakers are short on time and money to make the biggest cuts in agriculture in a generation and failure risks unintentionally driving up food prices and adding to an already onerous deficit. Fractious Republicans and Democrats may wait until the last minute to agree to significant cuts to farm supports amid historically highRecord world wheat stocks to offset South American drought
World wheat stocks will swell to a record this year and corn supplies will be larger than expected despite a crop-withering drought in South America, the U.S. government forecast Feb. 9. India will post a record rice crop of 102 million tonnes, up two million tonnes from a January estimate, due to beneficial monsoons and
Bigger U.S. subsidy cuts considered
Congress could slash U.S. farm subsidies far more than expected, perhaps by twice as much as proposed two months ago, to help trim the federal deficit, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Jan. 8. “It could be $23 billion. It could be $48 billion. It could be $33 billion,” Vilsack said on the sidelines of the
USDA to close 249 offices in cost-saving move
The U.S. Agriculture Department plans to close 249 offices this year — half of them the local offices that deal with farmers — in a cost-cutting program, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday. USDA says the package will save $150 million a year and help reduce the yawning federal deficit. Vilsack announced the closures in
Big world grain crops ease tight supply: USDA
The world is harvesting its largest-ever wheat, corn and rice crops this year, easing tight supplies that drove world food prices to record levels earlier this year, the U.S. government forecast on Friday. With the abundant harvests, including a record wheat crop in Australia, world stockpiles will gain a modest cushion against after successive years
Global grains picture brightens in U.S. forecast
World grain supplies will be much healthier next year than previously forecast, the U.S. government said in a report that could put further pressure on crop prices that have already tumbled from their peaks. Apart from an unexpectedly deep cut to its forecast of U.S. soybean stockpiles, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly report made
Smaller U.S. Corn Crop Pinches Feeders, Ethanol, Exports
Athree per cent reduction in the U.S. corn crop after a scorching summer will be largely offset by an abrupt fall in demand from both domestic and export consumers, the government forecast on Monday. In a report that painted a marginally brighter outlook for world grain supplies thanks to larger wheat and rice crops, the
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