The latest government report shows that 55.3 million acres of U.S. farmland is irrigated. This news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) found that there were 229,237 farms making up those acres, down from 2008’s 235,715 farms. “The 2013 irrigation survey expands on the data collected about irrigation during the 2012 Census of Agriculture … Read More
Future of Ag Joins in Chorus of ‘Ditch the Rule!’
Producers who will be the future of agriculture are telling the federal government to keep an unpopular water rule from having a future of its own. This news release from Farm Bureau says the group’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to ditch the proposed Waters of the U.S. … Read More
GMO Victory on Election Day
The Coalition for Safe Affordable Food (CFSAF) is calling the outcomes of GMO labeling initiatives in Colorado and Oregon a victory and urges Congress to enact a national labeling solution. “The voters in Colorado and Oregon were right to reject the scare tactics of extremist groups intent on ignoring the science about GMOs,” said Claire Parker, the coalition spokeswoman. “Passage … Read More
Hick Chick Chat: Vilsack and FFA
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack again addressed the delegation at the 87th Annual FFA Convention in Louisville, KY last week. He talked FFA and how the members of the largest farm based organization is the future. He says the future is bright for the youth and why this is the more difficult venue for him to speak following some of the … Read More
Corn Grower President Hosts EPA Staff
The president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) took the Environmental Protection Agency on an educational tour of his farm in southern Maryland on Friday. Chip Bowling hosted nearly a dozen staffers from the EPA as part of a series of meetings between NCGA and the EPA connected to the proposed Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. Bowling was … Read More
Ag, Interior Departments Measure Conservation Water Quality
The USDA and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a new partnership agreement that will provide a clearer picture of the benefits of farmers’ conservation practices on the quality of our Nation’s water. Working together, USDA’s NRCS and DOI’s USGS will quantify the benefits of voluntary agricultural practices at a watershed scale. This information will strengthen the effectiveness … Read More
EPA Findings on Neonicotinoid Seed Treatments
The Environmental Protection Agency has released an analysis of the benefits of neonicotinoid seed treatments for insect control in soybeans. Neonicotinoid pesticides are a class of insecticides widely used on U.S. crops that EPA is reviewing with particular emphasis for their impact on pollinators. The analysis concluded that there is little or no increase in soybean yields using most neonicotinoid … Read More
Depts. of Ag, Interior to Measure Conservation Impacts
A new partnership between the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and the Interior looks to better measure the impacts of farmers’ conservation practices on the quality of the country’s water. Officials say the information gathered will strengthen the effectiveness of state and federal nutrient reduction strategies while protecting the privacy of individual farmers. “On a voluntary basis, the agricultural community has … Read More
NACD Meets With EPA on WOTUS
Representatives of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) met with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials last week to express concerns on behalf of member conservation districts regarding the proposed “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule. “We thought is was a very good meeting and we appreciated the opportunity to express some concerns,” said NACD President Earl Garber, a licensed … Read More
Be Part of Nutrient Management Solution
This is the third of a four part series on Nutrient Management sponsored by FS/GROWMARK There are lots of good reasons to be proactive about nutrient management in agriculture, not the least of which is the threat of government regulation and litigation. “If we aren’t part of the solution, regulations and legislation will define agriculture and how we farm,” says … Read More