Washington DC -March 25- The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association commended U.S. Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) today for their recent letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expressing opposition to the USDA’s proposed rule to increase meat imports from Argentina. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 20- The availability of land and farm facilities and overall profitability remain the top challenges of America ’s young farmers and ranchers, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC - March 20- To raise awareness of the vital role rail plays in our nation’s transportation system, Amtrak has announced it will celebrate its first annual National Train Day during six weeks of celebrations culminating on Saturday, May 10, 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 20- USDA Secretary Ed Schafer announced a sign-up for the Conservation Security Program (CSP) that will be available starting on April 18 to approximately 64,000 potentially eligible farms and ranches in 51 watersheds covering more than 23.7 million acres. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 18- Following is a transcript of a telenews conference with USDA Secretary Ed Schafer and Deputy USDA Secretary Chuck Conner regarding an extension of the current Farm Bill: Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 17- Most people have little idea whether they’re eating a balanced diet or not and the USDA wants to change that with the MyPyramid Menu Planner, a new state-of-the-art, on-line nutrition guidance tool to help individuals and homemakers plan healthier menus based on the recommendations of the MyPyramid food guidance system and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 14- Calling it a critical tool needed by the pork industry and veterinarians, the National Pork Producers Council today urged reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA). Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 14- Americans are feeling the pinch of high gasoline prices, but the fuel could cost as much as 5 cents to 10 cents more a gallon if it was not routinely blended with ethanol, according to Terry Francl , senior economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 8- America’s drinking water and wastewater facilities can now save energy and reduce their carbon footprint with expanded tools available from EPA’s Energy Star Program. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 8- USDA has announced the award of $4.1 million to help 17 small businesses and community groups find more innovative uses of woody biomass from national forests in new products and renewable energy. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 5- At the request of senior House and Senate agriculture committee staff, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided a detailed document developed from Administration analysis of impacts to current USDA programs - in the absence of enactment of a new farm bill or an extension of the 2002 farm bill past March 15, 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 5- The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) applauded eight U.S. Senators for sending a letter this week to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer opposing regionalized beef trade with Argentina. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 5- EPA is proposing additional options to a 2006 proposal for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) under the Clean Water Act. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -March 5- Farmers, ranchers and others should take the time to schedule a checkup of their water wells and make sure any necessary maintenance is performed as National Ground Water Awareness Week approaches, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the National Ground Water Association (NGWA). Read the rest of this entry »