Twenty-eight senators have asked USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative to ensure that consumers know where their meat is produced when developing rules to come into compliance with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ruling last year on country-of-origin labeling (COOL)....More
USDA has announced the deadline for producers to complete the 2012 Census of Agriculture is being extended. Currently, over 1.4 million census forms have been returned....More
Russia has announced that effective Feb. 11, it will initiate a ban on all imports of U.S. beef and pork chilled and frozen products if the animals received the feed additive ractopamine....More
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the United States and Japan have agreed on terms and conditions that will expand U.S. beef exports to Japan....More
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has introduced last year’s Senate-passed farm bill, a sign that the farm bill is a priority of the Democratic leadership this Congress....More
USDA has announced that the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the authorization of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) for many Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) commodity, disaster and conservation programs through 2013....More
Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN), ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, announced the ranking members of the House Agriculture Subcommittees.They are:...More
Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) have already announced that they will not run for reelection in 2014. Senator Chambliss is a former chairman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee....More
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a request by food and oil groups to reconsider an earlier decision upholding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to allow for the gasoline blend of E-15....More
According to the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), U.S. pork exports for the first 11 months of 2012 continued to outpace the records set in 2011....More
Friends and supporters of American agriculture will be attending the Bipartisan Inaugural Ball Celebrating American Agriculture during the inauguration festivities on Monday, Jan. 21....More
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released for public comment two proposed rules to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act. The proposed rules are designed to help prevent foodborne illnesses....More
USDA has designated 597 counties in 14 states as primary natural disaster areas due to drought and heat. These are the first disaster designations made by USDA in 2013....More
The House Agriculture Committee membership has been set for the 113th Congress. The leadership will remain the same with Congressmen Frank Lucas (R-OK) serving as chairman and Collin Peterson (D-MN) serving as ranking member....More
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the appointments to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) for 2012-2014. The committee advises the secretary on matters affecting federal and state inspection program activities and contributes to USDA’s regulatory policy development....More
Congressman Collin Peterson (D-MN), Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee, said that without some assurance from Republican leadership that the House of Representatives will consider a farm bill, he did not see any reason for the House Agriculture Committee to write a five-year farm bill in the 113th Congress....More
The 113th Congress was sworn in on Jan. 3. John Boehner (R-OH) was narrowly reelected as speaker of the House of Representatives, even though 10 Republicans voted for someone else and two members abstained....More
