Friday, 3 June 2011

USDA Farm Service Agency FSA Fence Post Update

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  • New USDA Meal Plate Means More Work for Farmers

    06/03/2011 12:26 PM EDT

    Replacing the food pyramid with the new USDA My Plate guidelines may prove beneficial to farmers. The new guide suggests that half of the plate be made up of fruits and vegetables. Should Americans comply, can farmers produce that much? "We can, and we are looking forward to that opportunity," said United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel. (USDA Radio Newsline). Listen to more

  • Georgia Governor Considers Farm Work to Solve Unemployment Woes

    06/03/2011 09:46 AM EDT

    Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has an idea that could help decrease the state's unemployment rate while filling a labor gap in the agriculture industry. According to the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, farm workers have dropped off as much as 50 percent after the governor signed an Arizona-like immigration law allowing police to identify and detain illegal immigrants. Deal suggests filling the void by giving those farm jobs to unemployed residents. With the state unemployment rate at 9.6 percent, supporters say this is the best time to try out the idea; however, many Georgia residents don't find the idea...

  • Data Shows Farmers Produce More Corn With Less Fertilizer

    06/02/2011 02:34 PM EDT

    Farmers have doubled the output of corn while using less fertilizer to nourish the crop, according to an announcement by The Fertilizer Institute. Based on data released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, farmers grew 6.64 billion bushels of corn using 3.9 pounds of fertilizer per bushel in 1980. By 2010, producers grew 12.45 billion bushels using 1.6 pounds of nutrients per bushel. The numbers show that producers can increase food production while protecting the watersheds leading to the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico. Read more (Western Farm Press).

  • Texas High School Students Encouraged to Pursue Careers in Agriculture

    06/02/2011 10:51 AM EDT

    Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan listens to and answers questions from seniors from Calvert High School Calvert, Texas Jamarion Ramirez, Andre Ross, Telisa Grimes, LaKendra Crowley Ja'Marcus Ashley, Blair Burns and Shameka Grimes. It wasn't supposed to happen. There wasn't supposed to be an agriculture curriculum. There wasn't supposed to be an instructor. And there definitely wasn't any money to send seven African-American students from one of the smallest and lowest income towns in Texas to Washington, D.C., to speak with high-level USDA officials. But it happened. High school seniors from the Calvert Independent School District received an all-expense paid...

  • Commodity Credit Corporation Releases Lending Rates for June

    06/02/2011 09:03 AM EDT

    The USDA Commodity Credit Corporation, which helps stabilize, support and protect farm income and prices, released interest rates for June 2011. The borrowing rate-based charge is 0.250, which is unchanged from May 2011, while the 1996 and subsequent crop year commodity and marketing assistance loans dispersed during June is 1.250, unchanged from last month. Interest rates for Farm Storage Facility Loans and discount rates for the Tobacco Transition Payment Program also are available. Read more.

  • Parents Shell Out $400 to Send Kids to Farm Camps

    05/31/2011 03:49 PM EDT

    With a plethora of summer camps to chose from, many parents are selecting $460 a week farm camps where kids collect eggs, feed pigs and harvest crops. Shoofly Farm near Seattle is sold out for the summer with 600 kids enrolled in up to 10 sessions. Stone Barns in New York, which charges $400 a week, allow kids to pick tomatoes and garlic and perform skits about pollination. Read more (TIME).

  • Vilsack Promotes Energy Independence on RFD-TV

    05/31/2011 12:36 PM EDT

    Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appeared on RFD-TV last week to discuss the role of rural America in making the U.S. energy independent. Speaking before an audience of 200 and thousands of viewers across the country, Vilsack discussed how one in every 12 jobs are connected to farms and ranches, while more than 400,000 jobs are connected to the ethanol industry. The U.S. currently pays $1 billion a day to foreign countries for oil and gas. Experts suggest that it only costs $300 million a day to producer energy inside the country, saving $700 million to put back into the U.S....

  • FSA Loan Helps Young Couple Buy a Ranch of Their Dreams

    05/27/2011 03:29 PM EDT

    Few couples get the opportunity to do what Shane and Kristi Daniels did. With the help of conservation groups and a Farm Service Agency farm ownership loan and guaranteed farm ownership loan, the 30 year olds were able to purchase a 3,240-acre ranch that they say provides the perfect life. Although it is difficult for many young people to secure the capital needed to purchase farmland or ranches, the Daniels went through a meticulous process before securing the financing needed to purchase their dream home. Read more (Lincoln Journal Star).

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