Items Tagged with 'Oakland'

Farmers and ranchers looking to serve their community next year can now be nominated for the Farm Service Agency’s county committees. This year, the Department of Agriculture is streamlining the process with the addition of a GIS tool for producers to make nominations and vote.

Some ag shippers are still using the Port of Oakland to send wine, walnuts, fruits, vegetables, hay and rice to foreign buyers, but many other exporters are also looking for alternatives to the key — but troubled — West Coast shipping point.

Congress last week made it clear that ocean carrier companies cannot “unreasonably” refuse to book space on ships for U.S. ag exports, but now it’s up to the Federal Maritime Commission to decide exactly what that means and the fate of foreign markets for U.S. some farm commodities is at stake.

The USDA announced Monday plans to help fund a new 25-acre container yard at the Port of Oakland to try help farmers get their rice, beef, pork, almonds, hay and other agricultural commodities into containers and on to ships.