Items Tagged with 'USDA'

Brooke Rollins, president of the America First Policy Institute, an organization closely allied with President-elect Donald Trump, has been selected to serve as agriculture secretary.

The Senate Appropriations Committee met Wednesday to discuss the need for disaster funding across different sectors. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small and other representatives of the administration appeared before the committee to discuss ongoing work to recover from disasters like Hurricane Helene and Milton.

The Montana Grazing Lands Coalition hired Megan Terry as executive director. California Gov. Gavin Newson appointed Hernan Hernandez of Bakersfield and Rolston St. Hilaire of Clovis to the State Board of Food and Agriculture.

Paul Lewis is the new vice president of food safety standards and regulatory compliance at the International Fresh Produce Association. CropLife America added Victoria Yell as a science policy fellow.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has caused some concern among the food, nutrition and agriculture industry who are uncertain how MAHA could exactly influence a Trump White House, and impact outstanding regulations on Dietary Guidelines and a healthy food definition.

The incoming Trump Administration could be consequential for determining the fate of a slate of Biden Administration agricultural competition policies, including its efforts to update rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act.

Those in the agriculture industry believe that conservation programs will be largely unaffected by the incoming second Trump administration, with the fate of remaining Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding in the hands of Congress.

Farmers and landowners have until Dec. 2 to return their ballots for Farm Service Agency county committee elections.

The Agriculture Department is moving to reverse a change to milk pricing that was made in the 2018 farm bill that was subsequently blamed for a drop in prices received by producers.

Indiana farmer and retired Army Col. Joe Ricker was recognized by the American Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Credit for his work supporting veterans through agriculture. 

The Technical Service Provider program holds potential for helping the Natural Resources Conservation Service meet its growing workload, but actually getting conservation professionals interested in participating can be a challenge.