Next month the G-8 International Conference will be holding an important event in Washington on Open Data for Agriculture. The purpose, according to USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics Catherine Woteki, is “to make our agriculturally-relevant research and statistical data accessible to users in Africa and around the world.” Woteki explained in a USDA blog … Read More
Sign-Up for the Conservation Reserve Program
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA will conduct a four-week general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), beginning May 20 and ending on June 14. CRP has a 27-year legacy of protecting the nation’s natural resources through voluntary participation, while providing significant economic and environmental benefits to rural communities across the United States. Under Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, … Read More
USDA Extends Census Deadline
Farmers and ranchers across the country are heeding the call to have their voices heard and their farms represented in the 2012 Census of Agriculture. With 1.4 million Census forms returned, the USDA is thanking everyone for speaking up for their communities, their industry and their future by sending in their Census form. For those who missed the deadline, USDA … Read More
Soil Qualities Won’t Suffer with Corn Cob Removals
Concerns over hurting the soil quality when harvesting some crop residues for cellulosic biofuels, instead of leaving the residues on the fields to help the soil quality, might be unfounded. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research says that soil quality would not decline if post-harvest corn cobs were removed from the field. “Crop residues have many useful functions when left … Read More
Ag Secretary Happy to Work for Rural America
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is happy to be keeping his “great job” and continuing to fight for the future of American agriculture. “I am extraordinarily privileged and honored to have the job as the United States Secretary of Agriculture and to have another opportunity to continue this work,” Vilsack told the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting last week in … Read More
What Will 2013 Bring for Farmers?
We survived a devastating drought and even the end of the world in 2012, only to be thrown off the fiscal cliff at the start of 2013 while lawmakers stalled on a short term fix that would also include an extension of the current farm bill for nine months. Starting the new year off with this kind of uncertainty makes … Read More
Ranchers Reach 50M-Acre Mark in CRP Program
In just four years, America’s top conservationists have enrolled 50 million acres in USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), a program that helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners take conservation to the next level. CSP is aimed at producers who are already established conservation stewards, helping them to deliver multiple conservation benefits on working lands, including improved water and soil quality … Read More
USDA to Conduct Census of Agriculture
The USDA wants to get a better idea of what’s happening on America’s farms. That’s why the 2012 Census of Agriculture forms will be hitting producers’ mailboxes very soon. “The Census of Agriculture will be dropped in the mail December 14th, so farmers should expect it in their mailboxes by the end of the year,” says Renee Picanso, Director of … Read More
USDA Asks for Survey Responses to be More Precise
Ag producers know the importance of being precise in their information, and the USDA is no different, especially this year when growing conditions varied so much nationwide. To get that good, precise information, the USDA will be sending out its end-of-year surveys soon. Cindy caught up with Bob Bass, the Director of National Operations for the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics … Read More