The Department of Agriculture and the Energy Department launched a new initiative to help farmers cut costs and increase income using underutilized renewable technologies. Through the Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy initiative, USDA is setting an initial goal of helping 400 individual farmers deploy smaller-scale wind projects using USDA’s Rural Energy…… MORE
Category Archives: Agriculture News
Farmers Ask for Stability in Milk Prices
The American Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union sent a letter to USDA asking for stability in Class 1 milk prices. The letter asks Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack to issue an interim final decision to return the Class 1 mover formula to the “higher-of” the Class 3 or Class 4 calculations as it was before…… MORE
Food Continues to Get More Expensive
Eating continues to cost Americans more money. That’s even as overall inflation has backed off from the high pace of 2022 and 2023. Restaurant prices were up 5.1% last month compared to January 2023. U.S. Labor Department data shows that grocery store costs increased 1.2% during the same period. Relief isn’t on the immediate horizon…… MORE
California Proposal Leave Biofuels Behind
The nation’s largest Biofuels Association called Growth Energy submitted comments to the California Air Resources Board regarding the board’s proposed changes to California’s low-carbon fuel standard. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says, “While California has its sights set on the future, the state continues to overlook a significant challenge that it faces right now: decarbonizing…… MORE
California Weather: What Does it Mean for Water Supply?
LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a dry start to winter, California’s rainy season is finally well under way. December downpours sent water racing through streets in coastal Ventura County and the city of Santa Barbara. Flash floods hit San Diego in late January, and back-to-back atmospheric river-fueled storms arrived earlier this month, causing wind damage…… MORE
January Tractor Sales Up Slightly
Unit sales of four-wheel-drive tractors grew slightly in the U.S. during January. The latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers shows four-wheel-drive tractor sales increased 1.4% year-over-year and was the only segment to show growth in January. “The slight gain in U.S. four-wheel-drive tractors is positive news as 2024 begins,” says AEM Senior Vice…… MORE
Census of Agriculture Highlights Aging Farmer Population
The 2022 Census of Agriculture shows the number of farmers over the age of 65 is outpacing younger farmers. Almost 1.3 million farmers are now at or beyond retirement age, while just 300,000 farmers are under the age of 35. The average age of all producers was 58.1, up 0.6 years from 2017. However, this…… MORE
EPA Outlines Potential ESA Pesticide Policies
EPA Outlines Potential ESA Pesticide Policies The Environmental Protection Agency announced implementation approaches for pesticide policies under the Endangered Species Act. Assistant Administrator Michael Freedhoff talked about the steps during a speech at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s winter policy conference. When registering pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act,…… MORE
Lack of Heifers May Limit Milk Production Growth
A sharp decline in the number of dairy heifers available to replace older cows exiting the U.S. dairy herd could limit meaningful growth in milk production. The number of dairy replacement heifers has fallen almost 15% in the last six years to reach a 20-year low. While the global demand outlook for U.S. dairy products…… MORE
Market Prices and Input Costs are Pushing Expectations Lower
Farmer outlook took a downturn at the start of 2024 as the January Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index fell to a reading of 106, eight points below a month earlier. Compared to year-end, producers had a more negative outlook of their farms’ current situation along with a weakened outlook for the future. The…… MORE
