Farmers and landowners in portions of Arkansas’ Ashley, Chicot, Cross and Poinsett counties have until June 8, 2012, to submit Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) applications to receive cost-share assistance to implement conservation practices through three Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) projects....More

Speaking before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management on May 16, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman reemphasized AFBF support of a single commodity option and a strong crop insurance program in the 2012 farm bill. Stallman said he was confident AFBF’s approach could easily provide a safety net that meets regional and commodity differences, while also staying within the budget....More

Mississippi’s Extension agents are not being deployed to Afghanistan, but their agricultural and food preservation information is....More

Producers are reminded that enrollment for the 2012 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE) ends on June 1, 2012....More

A coalition within the U.S. specialty crop industry has petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS) for dicamba- and 2,4-D-tolerant crops, saying more study of the technologies is needed....More

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture....More

The American Farm Bureau Federation, along with 14 state Farm Bureau organizations and 16 other national and regional agricultural organizations, has filed a motion seeking to intervene in Gulf Restoration Network, et al. v. Jackson, et al., a lawsuit seeking to force the Environmental Protection Agency to establish federal numeric nutrient water quality standards for all states in the Mississippi River Basin....More

During a Tuesday farm bill hearing, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture quizzed panelists on a broad range of topics regarding specialty crops and nutrition programs....More

In a letter to Senate leadership, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and stakeholder groups from across agriculture has urged the Senate to bring the 'Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012', more commonly known as the farm bill, to the floor for consideration as quickly as possible....More

The U.S. Department of Labor has withdrawn a proposed rule dealing with children who work in agricultural vocations....More

There is no argument that the farm bill passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday was bipartisan. It was not, however, regionally inclusive as all four senators on the committee from the South – Arkansas’ John Boozman, Georgia’s Saxby Chambliss, Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell and Mississippi’s Thad Cochran -- voted nay....More