Merrigan highlighted how USDA's efforts to strengthen local and regional food systems could spur economic development in Solano County by helping farmers of all types and sizes take advantage of new opportunities and succeed in today's diverse marketplace....More

Title I programs and crop insurance form the backbone of the farm safety net that ensures farmers are able to manage a few seasons of volatile prices or devastating weather patterns. This effort ultimately ensures that consumers have a stable food and fiber supply....More

USDA reminded producers that enrollment for the 2012 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE) ends on June 1, 2012....More

Compost tea (a mixture of recycled organic matter soaked in water), hydroponic living basil, and organic certification are terms that, at first glance, may not have much of a connection to military veterans. Colin Archipley, a decorated Marine sergeant, and his wife Karen however saw the combination as a win-win when they founded the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT) program outside San Diego, Calif....More

Beginning today, U.S. agricultural exporters receive duty-free access on more than half of the products we currently export to Colombia, and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years. Estimates show that the tariff reductions in the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement will expand total U.S. exports by more than $1.1 billion....More

Current surface transportation law expires on June 30. The law has been extended a number of times since 2009, when the last long-term transportation measure expired. Bills being conferenced affect construction projects around the country and authorize the federal gas tax that pays for them....More

Anticipation is building for 2012 farm bill action in the coming weeks, with reauthorization before the current bill’s expiration on Sept. 30 looking possible. The next step forward is almost certainly Senate consideration of a bill approved by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee on April 26 by a 16 to 5 vote....More

LightSquared filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying it will seek to resolve the concerns of U.S. regulators who thwarted the company’s plan to deliver high-speed wireless to as many as 260 million people....More

Two witnesses at a congressional hearing, a beginning farmer from Nebraska and an urban farmer from Ohio, explained how important it is for agricultural producers to have access to credit to both start and support their operations because of the risks inherently involved with farming....More

The U.S. has requested the World Trade Organization establish a dispute settlement panel to decide U.S. claims regarding the government of India’s restrictions on imports of various U.S. agricultural products, including poultry meat and chicken eggs....More

The U.S. Department of Labor’s recent decision to withdraw the proposed rule dealing with family farms and child labor calmed a months-long storm in rural America. Accused by opponents of being a hyper-regulatory overreach, the rule would have prevented the children of farming families from many work-related activities."This is an important victory for agriculture. Maybe the biggest victory is that so many different agricultural groups and individuals not only hung together, but did so for so long. That proves the strength of a unified agriculture."...More