Tag Archives: usda

The Seam, which provides food and agribusiness software and commodity trading products, recently entered into multi-year agreements for its cloud-based peanut management platform with Coastal Growers and Tifton Peanut Co. Coastal Growers, a farmer-owned cooperative, is building a new 400,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art peanut shelling operation in Atmore, Alabama, slated for completion in 2022. State officials said the $87 million project will ... Read More »

Additional CFAP Aid The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced the release of billions of dollars in aid to both crop and livestock producers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. It will also open an additional $6 billion in aid to an array of producers and industries, including renewable fuels. For crops like peanuts, USDA will issue $4.5 billion in ... Read More »

Free-ranging populations of feral swine — also known as feral hogs, wild boar or wild pigs — can now be found throughout most of Alabama. Feral swine usually cause significant amounts of damage to agricultural crops, food plots, pastures and a myriad of other natural resources. Mark Smith, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System wildlife specialist, said although wild pigs allow ... Read More »

• By Ryan McGeeney • As world markets slowly unfurl from the global knot of the COVID-19 pandemic, futures markets for both soybean and corn responded in a powerfully positive manner March 31 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual Prospective Plantings Report. The report, conducted by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, reflects producers’ intended acreage for crops across ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service expects the nation’s peanut growers to plant about 1.63 million acres in 2021, down 2% from 2020 but 13% above 2019. That’s according to its perspective plantings report released March 30. The estimates are based on grower surveys conducted earlier this year where USDA asked them to estimate the number of ... Read More »

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced an expansion of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 provides additional CFAP assistance for producers of eligible row crops under CFAP 2. Row crops eligible for CFAP 2 include: alfalfa, amaranth grain, barley, buckwheat, canola, corn, Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton, upland cotton, crambe (colewort), einkorn, emmer, ... Read More »

Storage Space Growing The U.S. Warehouse Act is one of the oldest federal agricultural laws dating back to 1916. The act authorizes the secretary of agriculture to license warehouse operators who store agricultural products. Warehouse operators that apply must meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards established within the USWA and its regulations. A look at the USWA annual report from ... Read More »

A new project co-led by Auburn University researchers addresses the increasing number and distribution of feral swine—animals that cause more than $50 million a year in damage to agriculture in Alabama. The research focuses on measuring the reduction in damage caused by feral swine during the implementation of the Alabama Feral Swine Control Pilot Program. Through a $450,000 grant from ... Read More »

As the pandemic continues, the peanut market has been relatively quiet for growers and shellers. Buyers have good coverage for 2021, and shellers are not being aggressive to sell with higher prices looming. But changes in the peanut market are expected. Thanks to rising cotton and corn prices, the peanut market has a firm undertone. Corn is over $5 a ... Read More »

Agricultural producers and private landowners interested in the Conservation Reserve Program  can sign up for the program through Feb. 12. The competitive program, administered by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, provides annual rental payments for land devoted to conservation purposes. “This signup for the Conservation Reserve Program gives producers and landowners an opportunity to enroll for the first ... Read More »