USDA Announces Financial Support For Specialty Crop Industry

USDA ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR SPECIALTY CROP INDUSTRY May 1, 2018 Source: USDA news release The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the funding of $7 million to support 11 projects in six states to develop solutions to challenges affecting the specialty crop industries that cross state boundaries. The awards are managed through the Specialty Crop Multi-State Program administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service .

Ag groups express opposition to amendments to Farm Bill

INSURANCE ARGUMENT: A monster hail storm that hit Kansas on the night of May 14 provides an illustration of why farmers so strongly support crop insurance. This field in Scott County was just one of many that were wiped out in the storm, which destroyed thousands of acres of wheat.

John Kerry Joins TPG’s $2 Billion Rise Fund as Senior Adviser 2 hours ago

Rise Fund has enlisted former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as a senior adviser, bolstering its credibility as the fund sets out to prove that financial returns and social good can go hand-in-hand. Kerry said he will help identify investments and advise portfolio companies across Rise's various sectors, with a focus on renewable energy opportunities.

Tick first found in Hunterdon makes its way toa

An exotic tick unknown to America until its appearance in Hunterdon County last month is making its way east in Central Jersey. Tick first found in Hunterdon makes its way to Union County An exotic tick unknown to America until its appearance in Hunterdon County last month is making its way east in Central Jersey.

Vineyard Monocultures

The massive growth of the wine industry has led to a very real problem-wine monocultures that transform ecologically complex places such as the hills of Napa County into carefully manicured landscapes that leave no room for the wild. That a lot of wineries require hillsides makes this worse, as many species exist on a pretty strict elevation level.

Federal Home Loan Mortgage (FMCC) vs. Federal Agricultural Mortgage (AGM) Financial Contrast

Federal Home Loan Mortgage and Federal Agricultural Mortgage are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings. Federal Agricultural Mortgage pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Healthy people waste the most food, study finds

A new study revealed that Americans waste nearly a pound of food per person each day, and those with higher quality diets are the worst offenders. The research, released by the USDA, University of Vermont, and University of New Hampshire, found that between 2007 and 2014, U.S. consumers wasted nearly 150,000 tons of food per day, which equals roughly 30 percent of the average daily calories consumed by all Americans combined.

China puts charge on U.S. sorghum imports

Trade tensions heightened between the world's top two economies April 18 as China announced a 178.9% anti-dumping deposit on the value of U.S. sorghum shipments to the country. Traders said the higher-than expected deposit would essentially halt U.S. sorghum shipments to China for now, and raise prices of feed alternatives, such as barley and corn.

House panel moves to curb food stamps, renew farm subsidies

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., joined at right by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., argues in opposition as members members of the House Agriculture Committee assemble to craft a new farm bill which includes an overhaul of the food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Republicans are proposing stricter work mandates on the nation's more than 40 million food stamp recipients.

House panel moves to curb food stamps, renew farm subsidies Source: AP

A bitterly-divided House panel Wednesday approved new work and job training requirements for food stamps as part of a five-year renewal of federal farm and nutrition policy. The GOP-run Agriculture Committee approved the measure strictly along party lines after a contentious, five-hour hearing in which Democrats blasted the legislation, charging it would toss up to 2 million people off of food stamps and warning that it will never pass Congress.

USDA says individuals and groups may need license if buying…

A Washington Post investigation showing that buyers affiliated with 86 rescue and dog-advocacy groups and shelters nationwide have spent $2.68 million buying dogs at auctions has ignited fierce debate - and late Tuesday the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a bulletin stating that such individuals and nonprofits may need to be licensed under the federal Animal Welfare Act. "Our job is to ensure the humane treatment of the animals we regulate," Deputy Administrator Bernadette Juarez, who leads the department's animal care program, said in the bulletin, which cited "dog acquisitions from an auction for resale as pets" as a reason that individuals or groups may require federal regulation.