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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Monday, August 19, 2024
The number of farms in the U.S. fell 7% over five years to about 1.9 million in 2022, and the average age of U.S. farmers rose slightly to 58.1, according to the latest Census of Agriculture.
When the wind blows in Prowers County, soil tends to follow. The southeastern Colorado county sits at the heart of what is known as the “Dust Bowl” region, a place where the fear of prairie winds scattering tilled dirt through communities and towns looms large.
Nearly 800 comments submitted to EPA on its dicamba ecological and human health risk assessments split widely on the herbicide’s value to American agriculture.
The value of the U.S. industrial hemp crop in 2021 was $824 million, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its first report on the cannabis crop that was legalized in the 2018 farm bill.
While work continues to find nominees for some vacant high-level positions, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says it’s just as important to fill “worker bee” positions throughout the entire department.
Chavonda Jacobs-Young, a scientist who has been at USDA for nearly two decades, is the Biden administration’s pick to oversee the department’s research agencies.
Fewer acres of California farmland are dedicated to growing stone fruit compared to 10 years ago when growers of freestone peaches and nectarines voted to end the California Tree Fruit Agreement. But apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums, prunes (which USDA distinguishes from plums in its data) and sweet cherries continue to perform well.
President Joe Biden kept his promise to immediately send an immigration proposal to Congress. But it’s not clear how high it will be on his list of legislative priorities, and two key Republicans say they doubt any large immigration bill can even pass the Senate, which is split 50-50.