USDA scientists have released two mobile phone applications, or “apps,” to make things easier for anyone who needs to adjust insecticide spray equipment. The apps are designed to ensure that aerial and ground-based crews can hit targets and minimize pesticide drift by keying in specifics on the type of equipment and pesticide they are using. The apps are designed to … Read More
Connecting Precision Ag Data with Crop Reporting Requirements
A new cloud-based online service designed to bridge the gap between popular farm management software and reporting requirements for crop insurance, USDA and other government entities has been introduced by Independent Data Management, LLC. The service, MyAgData, simplifies the time-consuming, labor-intensive process of identifying Common Land Unit (CLU) information – tracts of farmland defined by the government – and matching … Read More
Drought Assistance Minimizes Impacts to Farmland
The USDA’s efforts to help producers rebound from drought have touched more than one million acres of farmland across the country as nearly 2,000 producers took advantage of conservation funding targeted to drought-stricken areas by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS made more than $27 million available to farmers and ranchers to make conservation improvements, spurring recovery and ensuring … Read More
Unlock the Secrets in the Soil
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced the start of a USDA effort meant to highlight the benefits of improving and maintaining America’s soil. “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” is an awareness and education effort that features farmers from communities in numerous states — Ohio, Indiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Indiana, Utah, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Montana and Kansas … Read More
Celebrating Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Rachel Jacobson joined private landowners, conservation organizations and natural resource agency leaders to celebrate partnership efforts in association with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program in Missouri, recognizing the Missouri/Mississippi Rivers Confluence Conservation Partnership as a signature demonstration of partnering for … Read More
More Conservation Acres for Wildlife Habitat Restoration
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack underscored the Obama Administration’s commitment to partnerships in conservation by announcing the allocation of 400,000 acres to support conservation and restoration of wildlife and their habitats as part of the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP. Under Vilsack’s leadership, the USDA has enrolled more than 12 million acres in CRP, a voluntary program available to agricultural producers … Read More
Record Income for Farm Co-ops in 2011
October is National Cooperative Month and 2012 is the the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, so it is extra special to celebrate record farm cooperative income in 2011. USDA released the latest statistics today, showing that farmer, rancher and fishery cooperatives posted record sales of $213 billion and $5.4 billion in net income, surpassing the previous record sales year … Read More
Expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is one of 15 agricultural organizations issuing joint statement today on the expiration of the 2008 farm bill: The 2008 law governing many of our nation’s farm policies expired on Sunday, September 30th, and the 2012 Farm Bill needed to replace it is bottled up in Congress. While the Senate and the House … Read More
USDA Announces SURE Sign up for 2011 Crop Losses
USDA’s Farm Service Agency has announced the sign-up period for the 2011 crop year Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program will open Oct. 22, 2012. The SURE program is part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill). Under the 2008 Farm Bill, SURE authorizes assistance to farmers and ranchers who suffered crop losses caused by natural … Read More
Managing Soil Copper Buildup
Getting a head start on stopping soil copper buildup will now be a bit easier, thanks to studies by USDA scientists. This research could help Pacific Northwest farmers develop long-term irrigation management strategies to protect crops from potentially dangerous soil copper levels. Scientists with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conducted a laboratory investigation to assess how copper levels in wastewater … Read More