Food, Farm and Financial News From Washington DC

Archive for August, 2008

Washington -August 31- Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has announced USDA is working closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has identified personnel and resources to assist them in the preparation for Hurricane Gustav’s landfall.

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Washington DC -August 28- Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today announced that 639 individuals and businesses in 43 states and the Virgin Islands have been selected to receive $35 million in grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy systems or to improve energy efficiency in farm and business operations.

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Washington DC -August 28- Fourteen states, three counties and two parishes competed for and will receive $14.7 million in Rural Safety Innovation Program (RSIP) funds to improve safety on rural roads.

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Washington DC - August 27- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its Interim Final Rule for Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) in the August 1 Federal Register. The agency is accepting public comment until September 30, and the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is urging those who wish to comment to do so soon.

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Washington DC - August 26- Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has  released its preliminary analysis of the Senate version of the Fiscal 2009 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Act. There are 287 projects for a total of $167.2 million in the bill.

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Washington DC -August 26- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had improved moderately in July, made further gains in August. The Index now stands at 56.9 (1985=100), up from 51.9 in July. The Present Situation Index decreased to 63.2 from 65.8 last month. The Expectations Index, however, increased to 52.8 from 42.7 in July.

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Washington DC -August 12- Despite June’s severe flooding in the Midwest, U.S. farmers are on pace to produce the second largest corn crop and fourth largest soybean crop in history, according to the Crop Production report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

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