Articles Tagged with ''usda''

USDA increased its forecast for global wheat stocks despite the war in Ukraine but also cautioned that the Russian invasion had “significantly increased the uncertainty” of agricultural supplies and demand around the world.

Early in the pandemic, federal funding boosted efforts to get farm-fresh produce to people in need of food. Nearly a year after the Farmers to Families Food Box program ended, some participating distributors, farms, and food banks have found ways to continue reducing food waste, expanding markets and increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables for people who turn to food banks or pantries.

Congress faces a Friday deadline to pass a massive bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, but negotiations were still far from final heading into the weekend.

Surging commodity prices have pushed crop insurance guarantees to record highs or near-record highs for farmers in the Midwest and Plains states this spring, which will help them protect their revenue against the soaring input costs.

The war in Ukraine may impede the country’s ability to export millions of tons of wheat and corn to China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey and elsewhere, and U.S. grain could be called on to fill the supply gap.

U.S. farmers are already suffering from high fertilizer costs, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday warned suppliers not to try to take advantage of the chaos from the Russian invasion of Ukraine by raising prices.

The U.S. poultry industry is better prepared this year to protect flocks from highly pathogenic avian influenza and isn’t likely to be threatened by the virus that’s been detected on a few farms and backyard flocks this month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday.

USDA expects U.S. ag exports to hit a new record this year and projects continued strong prices for major commodities this year while acknowledging that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has injected new uncertainty into world markets.

Billionaire philanthropist and novelist MacKenzie Scott has pledged to donate a record $50 million to the National 4-H Council, the youth development organization announced today

USDA is again inspecting Mexican avocados, allowing the resumption of exports to the U.S., which cannot come close to meeting consumer demand with domestic production.