Washington DC -June 22- Against a backdrop of the largest petroleum-related environmental disaster ever, the American Farm Bureau Federation is dismayed that the Environmental Protection Agency is again delaying a decision to boost the percentage of ethanol that can be blended into the domestic gasoline supply.

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Washington DC -June 16- U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln, (D-Ark.), and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss, (R-Ga.), have sent a letter to Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr., Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, expressing concern with reports that U.S. agricultural exporters are experiencing serious service issues with the foreign-flagged ocean carrier industry.

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Washington DC -May 21- USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess today reminded farmers and landowners that they have until Tuesday, June 1, 2010, to sign up for the 2010 Direct and Counter-cyclical Program and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program. More than 75 percent of an expected 1.7 million farms have already enrolled.

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Washington DC -May 20- The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released an independent study projecting the positive economic impact of the Department of Treasury Grant Program (TGP) and the Solar Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit.

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Washington DC -May 19- NOAA has extended the boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico into the northern portion of the loop current as a precautionary measure to ensure that seafood from the Gulf will remain safe for consumers.

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Washington DC -May 18- The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for both April and for the period from January-April, according to NOAA. Additionally, last month’s average ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for any April, and the global land surface temperature was the third warmest on record.

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Washington DC –May 17- Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) announced at a press conference in Augusta today that he has introduced legislation that will support the Veterans Curation Project, part of which is located in Augusta.  Barrow’s bill, H.R. 5282, has the support of the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project.

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Washington DC -May 17- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) that will add an expected 75,000 additional acres to the approximately 2.2 million acres currently enrolled in the program.

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Washington DC –May 17- In conjunction with the announcement today that the Department of the Interior and the Council on Environmental Quality will review the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act, Interior will also review the process through which offshore oil and gas operations are reviewed under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

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Washington DC -May 17- The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers continued to improve for a tenth consecutive month in May, albeit at a slower pace than in April. The general business conditions index fell 13 points, to 19.1.

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Washington DC -May 14- One of Congress’ most ardent opponents of expanding offshore drilling, who’s also a supporter of climate change legislation, today said he could not support the newly unveiled climate bill, if it contains provisions that allow oil and gas drillers to operate off Florida’s Atlantic coast, especially in a missile testing range.

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Washington DC -May 14- Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee, led by U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.), today unveiled a plan to Defend America.

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Washington DC -May 14- Tiny variations in the isotopic composition of silver in meteorites and Earth rocks are helping scientists put together a timetable of how our planet was assembled, beginning 4.568 billion years ago.

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Washington DC -May 13- Working gas in storage was 2,089 Bcf as of Friday, May 7, 2010, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 94 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 97 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 325 Bcf above the 5-year average of 1,764 Bcf.

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Washington DC -May 13- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today welcomed an aid package announced by the White House that is aimed at assisting Gulf Coast communities affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

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