Latest News From U.S. Department of Agriculture

Apples and potatoes are among the crops now eligible for direct payments to growers for sales losses in the $2.1 billion in Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funds for specialty crops.

A proposed rule will revise U.S. Department of Agriculture organic regulations to strengthen oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic agricultural products, according to the agency.

(UPDATED) Apples and potatoes are among the crops now eligible for direct payments to growers for sales losses in the $2.1 billion in Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funds for specialty crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already signaled an intent to distribute a third round of Farmers to Families Food Box Program funds, according to the United Fresh Produce Association.

Giving farmers and farmers markets the ability to fulfill SNAP purchases online is one recommendation presented by a group of Ohio farm organizations in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

U.S. retail grocery prices increased 0.8% in May and are running nearly 5% above a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House to prohibit imports of fresh citrus from China.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had added an online portal for growers submitting applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Chinese customs officials are demanding U.S. ag exporters sign a form guaranteeing their exports are free from COVID-19, trade and government reports say. 

With fall school schedules uncertain because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving school districts flexibilities in how they serve school meals.

Specialty crop growers have only received a small portion of CFAP funds, and panelists on a United Fresh LIVE! session said the direct payment program for growers is targeted for changes by industry lobbyists.

Losses suffered by apple and potato growers have not been fairly considered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, according to groups that represent the growers.

The USDA is offering contracts for its massive food box program to companies that were passed over in the first round of contracts for technical errors, such as a missed signature or unchecked box.

A dozen groups representing state and regional apple growers has asked the USDA to reconsider its method of determining direct payments for apple losses through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid out $53 million of the $2.1 billion allotted for specialty crops through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Moving about 1 million boxes a day to food banks and other charities, the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program is gaining speed and is on track to hit 44 million boxes delivered by the end of June.

I was talking with an East Coast distributor the other day who mentioned that fruit buying patterns have been unusually hard to anticipate.

House Democrats are raising concerns about the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, saying it fails to recognize the premium value of organic crops and does not fully account for the farm value of some specialty crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has scheduled a series of web seminars to help produce growers and other producers sign up for direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

The PMA and United Fresh Produce say they had a “candid dialogue” with U.S. Department of Agriculture officials about the Farmers to Families Food Box Program and expressed hope that improvements can be made.

Liability protection for employers and business owners is being sought by Senate Republicans in the next coronavirus assistance bill.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning another round of contracts for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, according to an administrator of the program who touted its successes in a PMA Virtual Town Hall.

United Fresh has launched a webpage with detailed information on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, the direct payment program to help producers reclaim some of the losses from the pandemic.

Echoing concerns raised in the fresh produce industry, members of Congress serving on House agriculture subcommittees, are asking about the process to award contracts for the Farmers to Families Food Box program.

After numerous industry questions and an exchange of letters between national trade associations and the USDA, Tom Stenzel believes it is time to focus on the positives of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

Never mind.

The USDA now has the authority under the Defense Production Act to help prevent supply interruptions at FDA-regulated food facilities, including farms, packinghouses and fresh-cut processing facilities.

With up to $2.1 billion for specialty crop producers at stake, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided the first details of the Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program direct payment plan.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gives companies participating in the Farmers to Families Food Box Program leeway on what’s going in the produce boxes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified five romaine lettuce varieties that are slower to brown after processing.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a recording of its May 14 web seminar for growers interested in applying for direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

U.S. onion growers should be paid $5 for every 50-pound bag of onions they have had to dump or donate because of the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent loss of foodservice sales.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is hosting a web seminar for growers who want to apply for direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

How do companies with no warehouse or logistic capabilities win a federal contract to supply produce boxes to food banks?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved $1.2 billion in contracts for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, including $461 million for produce purchases. 

The road to the new normal as the COVID-19 crisis continues is a rocky one for many in the fresh produce industry.

A bill seeks to temporarily quadruple the fresh produce voucher benefit for participants in the Women, Infants and Children’s program.

What is the future of the U.S. trading relationship with China? 

Hopes were running high among fresh produce foodservice distributors, food banks and other nonprofit groups that may benefit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families food box program. 

California vegetable growers will plant reduced acreage in the next few months because of big declines in foodservice demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Produce Marketing Association and Partnership for a Healthier America introduced the COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund to distribute fresh produce to people in need during the pandemic.

Thirty-eight agriculture groups want Congress to adjust the Paycheck Protection Program to make it easier to access for growers.

Drop payments limits to fresh produce growers in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, Democratic and Republic Congressional lawmakers told the Trump Administration on April 23.

As promised, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its solicitation for proposals for the Buy Fresh Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program.

Help is on the way.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and the United Fresh Produce Association will partner on an April 23 web seminar discussing details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Purchase and Distribution Program.

Companies awarded contracts through the USDA's Buy Fresh program will be boxing the produce themselves to distribute to food banks, and the program is expected to last for six months at $100 million in produce a month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a web seminar on April 21 to explain details of its “Buy Fresh” program funded through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

With foodservice sales continuing at a fraction of normal and grocery store foot traffic down compared with normal levels, produce distributors continue to seek ways to alleviate bottlenecks and waste in the supply chain

It’s a disturbing paradox during the COVID-19 pandemic: Food banks are seeing skyrocketing demand with hours-long waits while growers are forced to waste tons of food.