The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives defied a White House veto threat and passed a Farm Bill Thursday that expands the taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance system but omitted food stamps for the poor. Lawmakers passed the 608-page bill, unveiled by Republican leaders late on Wednesday night, on a 216-208, party-line vote after two hours of debate […] Read more
U.S. House passes Farm Bill sans food stamps
U.S. House deals shock defeat to Farm Bill
Republican budget-cutters joined with Democratic defenders of food stamps on Thursday to deal a shocking defeat to the proposed US$500 billion, five-year farm bill backed by Republican leaders, undermining hopes of enacting such legislation before the current stop-gap law expires. “Today’s failure leaves the entire food and agriculture sector in the lurch,” the American Soybean […] Read more
USDA probe finds GM wheat was ‘isolated incident’
The unapproved genetically modified wheat that was discovered sprouting in Oregon appears to have been “a single isolated incident,” U.S. agricultural officials said on Friday in their most detailed description yet of their ongoing investigation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement it had found no genetically modified (GM) seeds in any field […] Read more
U.S. seeks source of errant GM wheat as importers flee
The United States is still racing to determine how unapproved genetically modified (GM) wheat was found growing in an Oregon field, a discovery that continued to roil global wheat markets on Friday as South Korean buyers stepped aside. A top official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said investigators are “pursuing many avenues” to determine […] Read more
U.S. avoids meat inspector furloughs, Congress approves funds
Congress approved US$55 million on Thursday to prevent the furlough of all U.S. meat inspectors this summer, a step that could have driven up meat prices and created spot shortages in grocery stores and restaurants. The money for meat inspectors was part of a bill to pay for federal operations through the end of this […] Read more
USDA details some furlough plans
All U.S. meat inspectors will be furloughed on the same days as the federal meat safety agency, a top U.S. ag department official said, leading to spotty meat shortages in the summer and fall as automatic spending cuts shave US$53 million off the agency’s budget. Agriculture undersecretary Elizabeth Hagen told a U.S. House of Representatives’ […] Read more
Budget cuts won’t hit U.S. meat inspectors immediately: USDA
Although U.S. federal budget cuts are scheduled for March 1, it could be months before a threatened shutdown of meat plants would occur in that country because of a furlough of meat inspectors, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday. Vilsack said work rules vary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s employees, who get […] Read more
U.S. deserves lightest BSE rating, health officials say
The United States is expected to get the top safety rating for BSE in spring, under a recommendation from international livestock health experts that was greeted on Wednesday as a sure-fire boost to U.S. beef exports. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the recommended upgrade, to "negligible" from "controlled" risk, was proof that U.S. beef […] Read more
U.S. fiscal plan averts ‘dairy cliff’
A deal approved by the U.S. Congress late on Tuesday to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" also includes measures to avert the "dairy cliff" — a steep increase in milk prices. The tax agreement contains a nine-month fix for expiring farm subsidy programs by extending a 2008 […] Read more
USDA sees U.S. soy crop easing tight world supply
The U.S. soybean crop is much bigger than expected, helping to ease a worldwide supply squeeze, thanks to late-season rains that offset the impact of the worst drought in half a century, the U.S. government said Friday. In an report on crops around the world, the U.S. Agriculture Department raised its forecasts of global soybean, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
