Natural Resources Conservation Service officials predict that drought conditions will persist or intensify for much of the western United States. The predictions come after an unusually dry 2013 in much of the country, including California -- which experienced its driest year on record.
This month, officials from the National Agriculture Statistics Service began distributing irrigation surveys to U.S. farmers and ranchers. The surveys, administered every five years, analyze how agriculture producers use water and how they utilize irrigation. According to the most recent survey, far
While Congress continues to discuss a new Farm Bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a webinar on the department’s BioPreferred program and on the emerging market for bio-based products.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service predicts that Americans will eat more than 5 billion pounds of turkey in 2013. However, that total is tens of millions of pounds less than last year, and hundreds of millions of pounds less than just six years ago.
In 2011, Eric Herm's cantaloupes exploded. A fourth-generation cotton farmer in West Texas, Herm was experimenting with a home garden to help feed his family during the onset of a drought in the area. Blistering heat, including 100 degree days as early as May, was wilting Herm's cotton—and in the en
Thousands of pounds of meat had to be recalled because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contaminations and an E. coli contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture labeled the recalls as "Class I" and called them "high" health risks.
Costco wholesale stores have joined grocery chain Kroger Co. in recalling Foster Farms’ chicken products from its shelves. The recall involves nearly 40,000 pounds of chicken sold on the west coast that has been linked to a 20-state outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg contamination. So far, the outbre
Because of the government shutdown, the Food and Drug Administration sent thousands of its workers home on furloughs. As a result, routine food inspections and imported food inspections have stopped.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, dozens of U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies were closed or limited because of the federal government shutdown. However, agriculture officials said farmers won't be affected by the shutdown just yet.
A recent Inspector General report found that the Risk Management Agency has overpaid U.S. farmers by about half a billion dollars through prevented planting programs. Crop insurance programs, such as prevented planting, are meant to compensate farmers when they suffer losses due to weather or disast
Here in Livingston County, government-subsidized crop insurance paid big. In fact, the county led the nation with $154 million in crop insurance indemnities.
Food Safety and Inspection Service needs to improve its inspection of ground beef at post slaughter facilities such as grocery stores and restaurants, according to a recent federal report; hundreds have been arrested, indicted or convicted under USDA investigations over the course of six months.
