Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack down-played his own department’s analysis of U. S. climate legislation Dec. 15, saying “more current” studies do not foresee carbon-capturing trees taking over millions of acres of farmland. Up to 59 million acres of pasture and cropland could be converted to woodland by 2050 under a cap-and-trade system, according to the
Vilsack Says USDA Climate Report Outdated
Ohio Creates Board To Set State Livestock Policy
“This is just another layer, plain and simple, of bureaucracy they are going to have to deal with.” – ROGER WI SE, OHIO FARMERS UNION Ohioans have voted to create a board to set state policy on livestock handling, a move state farm groups had sought to head off laws or ballot initiatives similar to
Uptake Low For New U. S. Support Plan
Just eight per cent of farmers signing up for U. S. crop subsidies opted for a new federal program designed to protect grower revenue, the Agriculture Department said Oct. 20. Some 128,620 farms enrolled in the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program for their 2009 crops while 1.54 million choose to receive traditional supports, which
Big U. S. Soy, Corn Crops May Deflate Price Boom
U. S. farmers this year will reap their largest soybean crop ever and their second-largest corn crop, mammoth harvests that will deflate an ethanol-fuelled price boom, the government said Aug. 12. In its first estimate of the fall harvest, the Agriculture Department estimated the soybean crop would be a record 3.199 billion bushels, up eight
U. S. Soybean Stockpile Reduced
U. S. soybean exports will hit a record 1.21 billion bushels this marketing year, helping whittle the U. S. stockpile to 165 million bushels, the smallest in five years, the government forecast on April 9. “That is a tight number,” Don Roose, analyst for U. S. Commodities, said of the stockpile, roughly a three-week supply.
U. S. Farm-Cut Fight Far From Over
The fight to cut U. S. farm subsidies is just beginning in Congress despite a committee vote against a $250,000-a-year cap on payments, a limit supported by the White House, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says. “Let’s see where things end up,” Vilsack said during an interview with Reuters March 27. He said deficit hawks in
U. S. Needs Mandatory Livestock Traceback — Lawmakers
The U. S. government should require livestock producers to enrol in a traceback system, a primary U. S. defence against mad cow disease, because voluntary signups are not working, two key congressmen said on March 11. The chief veterinarian at the Agriculture Department said at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing “it is time to reassess
U. S. NFU Opposes Subsidy Cuts
The Obama administration should drop its proposal to end the direct payment subsidy to large U. S. farmers, the National Farmers Union said March 9, pointing to a slump in dairy and crop prices. The White House proposal has few supporters among farming groups and farm-state legislators. It calls for a three-year phase-out of direct
U. S. finalizes meat label rule, WTO dispute looms
The White House is on track to finalize rules that require country-of-origin labels on meat sold in U. S. grocery stores and are challenged by Canada as a violation of world trade rules, officials said Dec. 10. Labelling became mandatory on Sept. 30 under an interim rule. The Agriculture Department says it will allow a
Hunger still bites in land of plenty
Some 36.2 million Americans struggle to get enough food to eat and one-third of them go hungry from time to time, according to a government survey taken before this year’s economic downturn. Anti-hunger groups said hunger has worsened since the government’s survey of 45,600 households at the end of 2007. They want Congress to increase
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