Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
SENATE AG COMMITTEE CHAIR APPLAUDS USDA'S WITHDRAWAL OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION STANDARDS Dec. 18, 2017 Source: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry news release After years of challenging the rule, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announcement of a proposed rule that would withdraw a controversial regulation that would have revised organic livestock and poultry production standards. "With USDA's wise decision to withdraw this rule, organic livestock and poultry producers can rest assured that they will not be forced out of business by another costly and burdensome regulation," said Roberts.
NAT'L PORK PRODUCERS COUNCIL COMMENTS ON USDA'S ORGANIC PRODUCTION RULES WITHDRAWAL Dec. 18, 2017 National Pork Producers Council reports: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue last week announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will withdraw a proposed organic rule for livestock and poultry. The Obama-era regulation - the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule - would have incorporated into the National Organic Program welfare standards that were not based on science and that were outside the scope of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990.
USDA ANNOUNCES NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OPERATING MODEL Dec. 18, 2017 Source: USDA news release U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky announced today the U.S. Department of Agriculture will revamp its Information Technology operating model to increase efficiency in serving its customers. "When I was sworn in, Secretary Perdue charged me to help him make USDA the most effective, most efficient, most customer-focused department in the entire federal government," Deputy Secretary Censky said.
With possible implications for fruit and vegetable servings, the government is seeking public input on how certain foods are counted for nutrition standards in school lunches. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is inviting comments on what it called "food crediting," the system that defines how each food item fits into a meal for the National School Lunch Program and other federal child nutrition programs.
With tomato prices soaring above $35 per carton in mid-December, some customers are cutting back, and shippers expect market conditions will be tight into the new year. Set back by Hurricane Irma in September, season-to-date shipments of Florida tomatoes this fall have totaled 3.44 million cartons through Dec. 9, down 54% from 7.4 million cartons the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Chicago Board of Trade grains closed higher on Wednesday with wheat rebounding more than one percent due to short-covering. The most active corn contract for March delivery climbed 1.25 cents, or 0.36 percent to settle at 3.49 dollars per bushel.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach horticulturists discuss the history of this seasonal favorite and offer tips on selecting hollies that perform well in Iowa. Holly was considered sacred by the ancient Romans.
A whistleblower within McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center took photos of dogs used in controversial research and submitted them to the Washington-based watchdog group White Coat Waste Project.
Officials with the City of Webster City have announced the completion of the USDAa SRural Economic Development Loan to Mary Ann's Specialty Foods of Webster City. In February 2016, the City Council of Webster City Approved a resolution authorizing the City's application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program for a loan in the amount of $1 million on behalf of Mary Ann's Specialty Foods.
Many things in modern life have an epicurean appeal, a flare that even the most ascetic among us may be hard done by to resist. While it is certainly true that a contemporary, urbanised life demands much of us, sometimes to the point of inducing breakage, this same life also affords us much time to indulge in activities and offerings that were proscribed to our agrarian forebearers.
The central underlying problem is the pervasive climate of fear inside poultry plants; when workers are afraid to report issues, OSHA and other inspection agencies are unable to detect or investigate problems. Eighteen months after the GAO issued a report confirming that poultry workers face inordinate health and safety hazards and that many of these problems go under-reported, a follow-up investigation calls on all three federal agencies-- the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-- to improve ways for workers to communicate issues without fear of retaliation.
That's the comparison Ted McKinney draws between the U.S. and Canada, as they discuss NAFTA from afar. Says McKinney, the USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, "There may be too much circling and not enough engaging.
The Atlantic resident was nominated in September to the board of directors for the Farm Credit Administration and on Tuesday, Pat Roberts, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman Pat Roberts, and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, announced that Smith's nomination was confirmed by the Senate, and Smith ... (more)
Yes, Donald Trump, You Said That - The president is currently engaging in some revisionist history. - December 3, 2017 - OPINION - Soil Power! The Dirty Way to a Green Planet - Regenerative agriculture can help mitigate climate change.
Yes, Donald Trump, You Said That - The president is currently engaging in some revisionist history. - December 3, 2017 - OPINION - Soil Power! The Dirty Way to a Green Planet - Regenerative agriculture can help mitigate climate change.
On June 21, 2017, ExporTech, a California-based poultry wholesaler, accomplished something both commonplace and unprecedented. The commonplace was to import to the United States five cartons of cooked chicken.
Even though an estimated 115 million Americans rushed to malls and big box stores for Black Friday sales, others were reporting that the annual spend-a-thon has lost its bang.Gone is the thrill of the stampede, the fist-fights over a big screen, the trample to grab the last Soggy Doggy. In a Washington Post story, one Alabama veteran of weeklong parking lot campouts lamented that his Best Buy store had closed owing to Americans' changing spending habits.
What a shame for champions of statesmanship in our politics: A longtime political operative obviously conflicted on matters of race and religion in America is headed to the Colorado legislature. We shake our heads missed opportunity to find a good conservative more in line with Colorado views than newly appointed Rep. Judy Reyher.
CalFire declared the North Coast wildfires contained in late October, leaving wine grape growers in Napa County and elsewhere to take account of how the blazes affected their vines and properties. Although few vineyards burned during the fires, growers had to deal with debris cleanup, repairing damaged infrastructure such as melted irrigation lines and preparing for winter rains.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has followed through on Secretary Sonny Perdue's proclamation earier this year to loosen regulations on school lunches put in place during the administration of President Barack Obama. The Agency published an interim rule in the Federal Register on Thursday that allows schools to offer one percent flavored milk to students, opt out of offering whole-grain products, and freeze sodium levels instead of further reducing them.