USDA has established an online tool that can link retiring farmers who have expiring Conservation Reserve Program contracts with beginning farmers or ranchers who are interested in bringing the land into production. The new online resource, TIP Net, is a website provided by the Farm Service Agency (FSA)....More
On Friday, the Senate passed funding approval for the $1.25 billion Pigford settlement announced last February. The settlement – aimed at putting to bed a class-action brought by black farmers who claim long-time discrimination by the USDA -- was brokered following nearly a decade of legal wrangling....More
Soybean prices aren’t likely to exceed the all-time high of $16.60, but price appreciation from this point forward could be as much as $1 to $2, according to grain analyst Brian Hoops....More
USDA is accepting nominations to re-establish the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade and six Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees for Trade.
“USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative rely heavily on the individuals who serve on these committees to provide their expert advice on U.S. trade policy and priorities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack....More
The USDA has confirmed details of disaster payments announced in late September. Up to $550 million is destined for the producers of rice ($31.93 per acre of long-grain, $52.46 for short-grain), cotton ($17.70), soybeans ($15.62) and sweet potatoes ($155.41) that endured massive rains in 2009. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency will issue the funds through the Crop Assistance Program (CAP)....More
Three senators, will introduce a bill to fund the $1.15 billion settlement that black farmers reached with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in February....More
On Tuesday, Mississippi Rep. Travis Childers met with state producers at the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Verona to discuss the recent release of much-needed disaster assistance for farmers hit hard by last fall’s heavy rains....More
When they reached a $1.25 billion settlement with the USDA last February, members of the Pigford v. Glickman class action reasonably assumed they’d soon receive promised recompense. Now, in late August, claimants are still waiting....More
“It is a challenging time for all of agriculture,” Miller said as keynote speaker, via telephone hookup, for the American Cotton Producers/Cotton Foundation Summer Meeting recently in Lubbock....More
