Latest News From U.S. Department of Agriculture

Suffering millions in lost farm sales because of COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants since mid-March, some Florida growers are now selling some of their crops directly to consumers.

Industry associations have presented to the U.S. Department of Agriculture what is being called a Produce Market Stabilization Program to help produce operators survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fresh produce industry is facing unprecedented losses with the COVID-19 pandemic according to Western Growers, which is asking the USDA to cover all PACA claims to ensure produce sellers are fully protected.

Scammers are using the COVID-19 situation to steal personal information from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients, the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned March 24.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide targeted assistance for the specialty crop industry because of losses resulting from the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

The Customs and Border Protection is reminding members of the public traveling through ports of entry to be aware of what produce and other food is prohibited from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

Farmers who use the H-2A guest worker program are facing COVID-19-related delays in the processing and approval of those workers.

The USDA said its food safety and pest and plant disease divisions, along with the Agricultural Marketing Service, continue to function as the coronavirus COVID-19 spread.

U.S. agricultural exports to Taiwan and other markets in Asia are facing new logistical and transportation challenges because of the Novel Coronavirus and those conditions may not ease soon, a USDA report says.

Now is the time to respond to both the 2019 Census of Horticultural Specialties and the 2019 Organic Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced $23.5 million in grant funding awards through the Farmers Market Promotion Program and Local Food Promotion Program,

Processor Missa Bay LLC has recalled more than three dozen salad products with romaine as investigators search for a cause of an eight-state E. coli outbreak with 17 cases.

The future of organic farming will depend on the federal government keeping pace with the organic marketplace, Jeff Huckaby told the House Agriculture Committee on Oct. 30.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate why produce-grower prices have stayed stagnant or declined while prices have increased along the supply chain.

A 1987 handbook published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s division of Agricultural Marketing Service received a 21st-century update thanks to a team led by University of Florida researchers.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have again visited Grimmway Farms, for a listening session on issues facing California farmers, from immigration to water rights.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is scheduled to speak at the United Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Conference.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund a record 126 farm-to-school projects this year, up from the previous high of 74 projects funded in 2016.

Pushing trade goals and hearing about labor woes from mushroom growers, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue came to Kennett Square, Pa., and participated in an industry discussion on May 30.

Retail consumer food prices are projected to increase between 0.5% to 1.5% in 2019, according to the latest price forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Taylor Farms Texas Inc., Dallas, is recalling Caesar salads with chicken due to an undeclared allergen — anchovies — an ingredient in the dressing.

Following the granny smith and golden delicious, the Arctic Fuji apple, engineered to resist browning, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has added information on how to apply for H-2A visas on the farmers.gov website.

Onion growers in South Texas have voted in favor of downsizing the number of members on the South Texas Onion Committee, the marketing order that oversees the industry.

Florida citrus growers are asking for approval to lower size and grade standards to sell more on the fresh market.

In the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Irma, University of Florida agriculture economists have created a system to report disaster damage to crops faster.

CHICAGO — Touching on trade, farm labor and food safety regulations, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue defended Trump administration efforts to help fruit and vegetable growers deal with the tough issues they face.

(UPDATED, May 25) Trump administration officials with the departments of State, Agriculture, Labor, and Homeland Security have vowed to modernize the H-2A agricultural guest worker visa program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released new information on disaster relief through the 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity (WHIP) Program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is hosting an importers roundtable on food safety for companies that do business with Colombia, Peru, and countries in Central America and the Caribbean.

The owner of food safety auditing company Equicert is suing the government to declare the Food Safety Modernization Act unconstitutional.

Trump Farm-Bill Outline Emphasizes Work as a Food-Stamp Goal

Midwestern lawmakers and farmers are shifting the attention of a locomotive and railcar shortage problem to Washington this week with legislation, a committee hearing and meetings with decision-makers.

The ripening corn and soybean fields stretch for miles in every direction from Dennis Wentworth’s farm in Downs, Illinois.

"Rural infrastructure projects have built-in advantages that should be attractive to financiers. For starters, investment dollars go farther," McGraw Hill Financial CEO Douglas L. Peterson wrote in an opinion piece for CNBC this week.

The new U.S. Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund is designed to connect rural projects in need of funding with interested investors and lenders.

See how President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney answered the American Farm Bureau Federation’s farming questionnaire.

Aid for poultry, aquaculture producers also included