Food, Farm and Financial News From Washington DC

Archive for April, 2008

Washington DC -April 30- The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 2 percent.

 

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Washington DC -April 30- Rising food costs in the United States and overseas are receiving a great deal of attention, and a range of complex factors are behind this relatively new phenomenon, according to American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -April 30- Recommendations issued yesterday from a commission composed primarily of members opposed to modern livestock production if implemented likely would raise the cost of producing food animals and increase meat prices in the face of a global food crisis, according to the National Pork Producers Council. Read the rest of this entry »


Washington DC -April 25- President Bush today signed a one-week Farm Bill extension which was passed by the Congress on Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -April 23- In the face of rising feed costs and tightening credit markets and in an effort to stem mounting financial losses, the U.S. pork industry has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture for assistance. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -April 21- Getting a Farm Bill passed yet this year is a top priority for the National Farmers Union (NFU). Tom Buis, President of NFU, told WashingtonView Radio today that the House and Senate need to come to an agreement soon.

Listen to NFU Tom Buis interview NOW at:    www.blogtalkradio.com/washingtonview

Washington DC -April 16- Revisions to the H2A temporary worker program will be a critical component to the success of farmers and ranchers keeping food production in America. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -April 16- Following is the statement read by President George W. Bush welcoming His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the White House and the Pope’s statement. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -April 13- Consumers and producers continue to search for the best quality food to bring to the dinner table, and the growing niche market for those products is the topic of this week’s WashingtonView Radio Program.

Our guest is Mary Ellen Taylor of Endless Summer Harvest (www.esharvest.com), a hydroponic lettuce and herb producer in northern Virginia which provides consumers and upscale restaurants in Washington DC, high-quality produce grown year-round.

Listen to the program now at WashingtonView Radio

 

Washington DC -April 4- The Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008 would allow development of a robust renewable electricity industry, and generate billions of investment dollars for rural America and billions more in economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers and rural landowners, according to National Farmers Union President Tom Buis. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -April 4- Hired farmworkers make up a third of the total U.S. agricultural labor force but are a much higher share of workers in the production of labor-intensive crops, such as fruit, tree nuts, vegetable, and horticultural crops, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Read the rest of this entry »

Washington DC -April 2- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the availability of $16.8 million in emergency funding to continue efforts to eradicate bovine tuberculosis in California, Michigan and Minnesota.

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Washington DC -March 31- On the heels of last year’s record-high corn production, U.S. farmers intend to plant 8 percent fewer corn acres in 2008, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Read the rest of this entry »