Aug 2014
What I did on my summer vacation: Sometimes you need an invitation
August 29, 2014 | 06:06 AM
By JERRY HAGSTROM
In the busy world of Washington policymaking and politics, we sometimes forget that there is more to life. But this summer I received two invitations that took me out of the capital and provided the opportunity for some great rural experiences and wonderful food.
As summer unofficially comes to an end this Labor Day weekend, I share with you some tidbits from these travels in North Dakota and Scandinavia. I hope you enjoy them.
North Dakota roots on ‘Roadshow’
The first came from my National Journal colleague Isobel Ellis, who found out that an episode of the PBS television show “Antiques Roadshow” was going to be taped in Bismarck, N.D., where I was born and went to high school.
Isobel, who grew up on a horse farm in New Jersey and is very knowledgeable about furniture, sent away for tickets to bring items to the popular antiques appraisal show, and presented them with an offer to accompany me to Bismarck.
I explained to Isobel that North Dakota was settled so late that she would not find the same kind of priceless antiques brought to shows on the East Coast, but that didn't matter to her, so off we went to Bismarck for the event on May 31.
The old things in North Dakota may not be worth a lot, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm. We had to wait in line for the evaluation of our items, and had a wonderful time talking with Gene and Pat Eggen, a couple from Minot.
Gene brought his father's buffalo mittens which he remembered his father wearing as late as the 1950s as he drove his children to school “through the snow in a sleigh.”
Gene told the appraiser that Gen. George Custer had worn them, but had no answer when the appraiser asked if he had a letter of authentication from Custer.
I brought the snuff box my grandfather carried with him from Sweden when he immigrated in 1905.
The appraiser confirmed that it was made of nickel covered with silverplate, and that the engraving used to put his name on the box is known as pinpricking. The value was only $50 to $75, but I didn't care. I didn't want to sell it and only wanted it authenticated.
Before we left, I took Isobel on two excursions.
The first was to to my family farm between Wilton and Regan, with a stop in the town of Wing.
The second was to Medora, on the far western edge of the state where Teddy Roosevelt ranched. It was also the place where French nobleman and entrepreneur the Marquis de Morès built a meat-packing plant in a failed attempt to slaughter and process meat on the Plains where the cattle were raised.
These were memorable days.
We visited the Chat-N-Chew Cafe in Wing, N.D., boasting home cooking, chuck wagon, catering and baked goods, and featuring (below) a number of memorable signs advising its customers. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Left: Richardton, N.D., is home to the Assumption Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. Right: A tiny Jewish cemetery near Regan, N.D., is a testament to the diversity of small towns during pioneer days. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The Rough Rider Hotel in Medora, N.D., is an island of sophistication that serves lemon ricotta pancakes for breakfast on the weekends. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
My host, retired Swedish diplomat Lars Romert, at the train station in Sunne, Värmland, where my grandparents lived. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Travels to Scandinavia
My Swedish grandparents were the only members of their family to leave Sweden, and my American family has stayed in touch with our Swedish relatives.
Later in the summer I received an invitation to attend the 70th birthday party being held for my father’s first cousin’s daughter. I went and had a wonderful time getting to know younger generations of my Swedish relatives in Värmland, the western Swedish province from which my ancestors came.
I also traveled through Oslo and visited distant Norwegian relatives that my parents had found in the 1970s by undertaking research on my maternal grandmother's roots.
Two younger generations of Swedish relatives at the birthday party. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Tone Gjerde, right, my relative who works for Norwegian Broadcasting, and her family host me at lunch at their home near Oslo. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Oslo meals, from left: Dinner in the bar of the Hotel Continental; lunch at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art; Marina Tofting, a former Washington-based Norwegian journalist, shows off the fish we had in a wonderful Oslo restaurant. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
OIG gives perspectives on USDA and Recovery Act
August 28, 2014 | 02:08 PM
The Agriculture Department took steps to implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 “in a manner that was transparent, effective and efficient, “but some problems still emerged,” the USDA Office of Inspector General said in a report released this week. Read More...
Report: Digital technology has changed relationship to food
August 28, 2014 | 02:08 PM
Digital technology has created a “participatory culture” in which people view food and shop differently according to a study released today by The Hartman Group, a Bellevue, Wash. firm. Read More...
Farm Aid concert coming up in Raleigh
August 28, 2014 | 02:08 PM
The annual Farm Aid food and music festival will be held this year at the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh N.C. on September 13. Read More...
Vilsack, Leahy, Welch announce dairy protection program
August 28, 2014 | 02:08 PM
Dairy farmers can start signing up for the new dairy Margin Protection Program for 2014 and 2015 on September 2, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today. Read More...
Anti-GMO activists to march at United Nations
August 28, 2014 | 02:08 PM
A People’s Climate March will take place in New York City in September in conjunction with the United Nations Climate Summit 2014, the Organic Consumers Association announced today. Read More...
Gardening with seeds from the USDA farmers market
August 28, 2014 | 02:08 PM
The first zucchini of the summer, grown from Burpee seeds distributed at the opening of the USDA Farmers Market in June. (Alex Gangitano/The Hagstrom Report)
By ALEX GANGITANO
Former Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan once said that gardening and the local and organic agriculture movements would produce sympathy for farmers because urban and suburban people would learn how hard it is to grow food.
What better test could there be of Merrigan’s proposition that to plant vegetable seeds distributed by Burpee at the 19th annual USDA Farmers Market opening on June 6?
The weekend after covering the market opening, I planted six of the vegetables in my backyard in Potomac, Md.
I sowed spinach, carrots, radish, onions, lettuce and squash into an empty, flat patch of dirt that receives a lot of sunlight. After watering the garden for two weeks, the first growth was grass from the onions and leaves from the squash and radishes. Another two weeks later, the lettuce showed some green above ground.
About the same time, I attempted to dig up the radishes and onions. The long onion grass had nothing under the surface.
The radishes made a good salad combined with other vegetables. (Alex Gangitano/The Hagstrom Report)
But the radish plants had radishes stretching half above the surface, possibly suggesting I did not sow them deep enough.
I pulled out three radishes, which I sliced and put in a kale salad with store-bought onions and catalane beans, with a lemon and olive oil dressing.
A month after planting, more radishes were ready, again slightly above the soil surface. The lettuce leaves had grown long enough that I cut them close to the stem. I made the same salad but mixed the light green, thin lettuce leaves with store-bought arugula.
Left: The radish plant was highly productive. Right: The first zucchini and the flowers from the squash plant. (Alex Gangitano/The Hagstrom Report)
At this point, there were still no developments from the spinach and carrots and when I attempted to dig up the onions again, nothing was under the tall grass. The leaves of the squash plant now measured about a foot wide and tall and had large yellow flowers growing among them.
Two and half months later, a zucchini squash grew, about a foot and a half long. I sliced it and marinated it in an oil olive, lemon, garlic and pepper combination for an hour then grilled it on the barbecue. The grilled zucchini went great with grilled chicken and another salad with the grown lettuce and radish. Another squash emerged about the same time.
The conclusion: My amateur garden was 50 percent successful, producing great radishes, lettuce and squash but nothing from the spinach, carrots or onions. Next summer, when I expect to live in Washington, I would love to garden again if I have the space. The food was so tasty, it was worth the work and the wait.
But if every farmer’s production rate were the same as mine, it would indeed be a hard life.
Radishes, lettuce and squash grew from the seeds planted in Alex Gangitano’s garden in Potomac, Md. … But the spinach, carrots and onions were no-shows. (Alex Gangitano/The Hagstrom Report)
Bertram named chief scientist at USAID’s Bureau of Food Security
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah has named Rob Bertram as the chief scientist and strategic officer in the Bureau of Food Security, which manages the Feed the Future program. Read More...
Smith, EPA spar over water maps
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, today posted maps from the Environmental Protection Agency that he said detail the impact of the Waters of the United States proposal, as well as a letter he wrote to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy saying that they paint an “astonishing picture.” Read More...
SNA releases school meals survey
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
The School Nutrition Association today released a new national survey of school meal operators that it said “finds that schools are expanding creative menu options, nutrition education and other initiatives to promote healthy school meals, yet many districts still struggle with decreased student lunch participation at all grade levels, and other challenges related to new nutrition standards for school meals.” Read More...
Farm to School Network launches school lunch evaluation project
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
The National Farm to School Network has developed an online resource to help evaluate a school’s program to bring food from local farms and gardens to schools.
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Intergovernmental panel drafts climate change report
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has finished its draft synthesis report assessing scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. Read More...
Shiva, Hirshberg respond to New Yorker GMO article
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
Vandana Shiva, the Indian anti-GMO activist, and Gary Hirshberg, the chairman of Stonyfield Farm and Just Label It, have responded negatively to the article on Shiva and her campaign in The New Yorker written by Michael Specter. Read More...
Risk Management Agency has new crop insurance tool
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
The Agriculture Department's Risk Management Agency today released maps related to its supplemental coverage option and an online “Crop Insurance Decision Tool” to help farmers make decisions about crop insurance. Read More...
ERS raises farm income forecast
August 27, 2014 | 06:53 PM
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service on Tuesday revised its net farm income and net cash income forecast upward slightly from its February estimate.
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Justice requires Tyson to divest Heinold Hog Markets in Hillshire deal
August 27, 2014 | 06:03 PM
The Justice Department announced today that it will require Tyson Foods Inc. to divest Heinold Hog Markets, its sow purchasing business, in order to proceed with its $8.5 billion acquisition of The Hillshire Brands Company. Read More...
Endangered species protection sought for monarch butterfly
August 26, 2014 | 04:05 PM
The Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety today filed a petition with the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service seeking Endangered Species Act protection for the monarch butterfly. Read More...
Judge blocks Kauai ban on biotech crops
August 26, 2014 | 04:05 PM
A federal judge has blocked a local ordinance banning genetically modified crops on the Hawaiian island of Kauai on the grounds that Hawaii already has a regulatory structure in place to handle the issue, The New York Times reported. Read More...
House Ag subcommittee hot-goods hearing seems to have no impact
August 26, 2014 | 04:05 PM
A House Agriculture subcommittee hearing on the Labor Department’s use of the “hot goods” provision of labor law in the Pacific Northwest to enforce agricultural wage and hour laws appears to have had no impact. Read More...
Minneapolis Fed: farm incomes likely to fall
August 26, 2014 | 04:05 PM
Declining farm income has pushed loan repayments down slightly and cash flows will be tight, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank reported Monday.
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Grain-loading unions ratify labor agreement
August 26, 2014 | 04:05 PM
Longshore workers who load grain in Pacific Northwest export terminals have voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with several multinational grain companies, the International Longshore and Warehouse Workers Union said today in a news release. Read More...
Commerce rules Mexico is subsidizing sugar exports to the United States
August 26, 2014 | 04:05 PM
In a victory for U.S. sugar growers, the Commerce Department ruled today that the Mexican government has been subsidizing sugar exported to the United States, and issued a preliminary ruling that the United States will impose countervailing duties on Mexican sugar. Read More...
Dolcini named Farm Service Agency administrator; Gonzales to head California FSA
August 25, 2014 | 06:30 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told The Hagstrom Report today that he has named Val Dolcini the new administrator of the Farm Service Agency, the division of USDA that distributes farm subsidies and disaster payments. Read More...
Vilsack announces $200 million SNAP employment program
August 25, 2014 | 06:30 PM
ARLINGTON, Va. — Fulfilling a key provision in the 2014 farm bill, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced here today that USDA is asking states to apply for $200 million in grants to conduct employment and training pilot projects and evaluations for beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps. Read More...
Secretary defends states on LIHEAP funding
August 25, 2014 | 06:30 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today defended the decisions of some states to increase funding for an energy assistance program to increase food stamp benefits.
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Vilsack says he does not know his future
August 25, 2014 | 06:30 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this weekend that he does not know what lies ahead.
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Peterson announces new aides at House Ag
August 25, 2014 | 06:30 PM
House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., announced today that he has hired three new aides on the minority committee staff.
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Dems organize to save Pryor seat and Senate control
August 25, 2014 | 06:30 PM
Democrats have mounted an unprecedented organizing effort in Arkansas to increase voter turnout to help Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor win re-election and keep the Senate in Democratic control, The Atlantic reported in its current issue. Read More...
Growth Energy comments on RFS move to OMB
August 25, 2014 | 06:30 PM
Upon the Environmental Protection Agency's announcement Friday that it had sent its proposal for the 2014 volumetric requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard to the Office of Management and Budget, Growth Energy said it is the content that will matter the most. Read More...
Concannon: House proposal on school meals unlikely to become law
August 21, 2014 | 05:47 PM
As he announced new federal help for schools to implement healthier meals rules, Agriculture Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon today questioned whether the House proposal to require USDA to grant a waiver from the healthier school meal rules to any school that says its school meal program has lost money for six months will ever become law. Read More...
Rural states get lion’s share of Team Nutrition grants
August 21, 2014 | 05:46 PM
When Agriculture Secretary Kevin Concannon held a news conference today to announce that 20 state agencies that administer school meals programs would get $5.7 million in grants to help encourage students to make healthy choices, he did not mention that most of that money will go to rural states in which students and politicians have been the most critical of the healthier meals. Read More...
Consumers Reports recommendation on tuna creates brouhaha
August 21, 2014 | 05:46 PM
Consumers Reports’ release today of a study recommending that pregnant women avoid all tuna has created sharp negative reactions from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Fisheries Institute. Read More...
Mercy for Animals praises Nestlé animal welfare commitment
August 21, 2014 | 05:46 PM
Mercy for Animals, a group that earlier released a hidden-camera video of a Nestlé dairy supplier in Wisconsin showing workers abusing cows, on Thursday praised Nestlé for promising to improve farmed animal welfare across its global supply chain. Read More...
Forest advocates: Private landowners need firefighting funding too
August 20, 2014 | 06:01 PM
Private forest landowners, many of whom live in the East and also farm, need a change in funding for fighting forest fires just as much as the national forests in the West, a key forestry group said today as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a report on funding issues in the U.S. Forest Service.
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STB schedules rail hearing in North Dakota
August 20, 2014 | 06:01 PM
The Surface Transportation Board announced Tuesday that it will hold a public field hearing on September 4 in Fargo, N.D., on the service problems in the U.S. rail network. Read More...
McConnell absence at Ag hearings a campaign issue
August 20, 2014 | 06:01 PM
The absence of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., at Senate Agriculture Committee hearings has become an issue in his re-election campaign against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, The Hill reported. Read More...
NRECA hires Breslaw to head International Foundation
August 20, 2014 | 06:01 PM
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has hired Marc Breslaw to serve as executive director of the NRECA International Foundation, the association announced today. Read More...
Coalition urges oil and gas to help protect sage grouse
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
A coalition of environmental and farm groups today sent a letter to Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas trade group, taking issue with the alliance's statements that environmental groups want to shut down the western economy by listing the greater sage grouse as an endangered species. Read More...
EU announces support for growers hurt by Russian ban
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
COPA-COEGA, the largest European farm and co-op group, today thanked the European Commission for introducing measures to help growers of perishable fruits and vegetables hurt by Russia’s ban on their products. Read More...
Fair Food Network starts SNAP fresh produce program with grocery stores in Michigan
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
Five years ago when food activist Oran Hesterman started the “Double Up Food Bucks” experiment in Michigan to increase the fruit and vegetable purchasing power of food stamp beneficiaries at farmers markets, a lot of people thought the idea might be too complicated to work. Read More...
NFU plans to withdraw from beef checkoff working group
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
The National Farmers Union plans to withdraw from the working group that has been struggling to reach consensus on changes to the beef checkoff program, The Hagstrom Report has learned. Read More...
Hartman Group: Private-label products growing
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
Private-label food products — those sold in grocery stores as products of the store usually at a cheaper price than well known brand names — continue to proliferate but their growth potential varies dramatically, according to a study released by The Hartman Group, a Bellevue-Wash., consumer research organization. Read More...
USDA announces Farm for Progress grants
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
The Agriculture Department today announced $127 million in Food for Progress funding in developing countries. Read More...
Cornucopia Institute publishes NOSB scorecard
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
The Cornucopia Institute has published a scorecard on how members of the National Organic Standards Board has voted on key issues. The scorecard tells how members have voted in relationship to Cornucopia’s stands. Read More...
Feed industry associations says link to PEDv is unclear
August 19, 2014 | 04:42 PM
The link between animal feed and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus revealed by researchers is unclear, an official of the American Feed Industry Association said late Monday. Read More...
National Research Council invites critics to three-day meeting on genetically modified crops
August 18, 2014 | 03:40 PM
The National Research Council has scheduled a three-day semi-public meeting in mid-September on the “concepts and questions” surrounding genetically-engineered crops that will include testimony from severe critics of the technology. Read More...
USDA reviewing advisory panel guidance
August 18, 2014 | 03:40 PM
Agriculture Department officials are reviewing the guidance from the Office of Management and Budget that federal advisory panels can be reopened to registered federal lobbyists, but have not made any decision on how to reopen the panels, an Agriculture Department spokesperson told The Hagstrom Report over the weekend. Read More...
USDA releases updated cost of raising a child
August 18, 2014 | 03:40 PM
For middle-income families, the cost of raising a child born in 2013 until age 18 is $245,340, according to the Agriculture Department’s “Expenditures on Children Read More...
Farmland values up in Fed’s 11th District
August 18, 2014 | 03:40 PM
Farmland values in the 11th Federal Reserve District are higher than last year, according to the second quarter survey of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
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Study: Feed spreads pig virus
August 18, 2014 | 03:40 PM
Contaminated feed spreads the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus known as PEDv, according to a peer-reviewed study, The Des Moines Register and Reuters reported over the weekend. Read More...
NASDA comments on EPA worker pesticide standards
August 18, 2014 | 03:40 PM
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency Friday that EPA’s proposed updating of the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard regulation would “miss the mark by placing unnecessary burdens on state regulatory agencies and the regulated community, without providing additional appreciable protections for workers.” Read More...
Farm Bureau, Pork Producers ask court to stop EPA from FOIA data releases
August 18, 2014 | 03:40 PM
The American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Pork Producers Council have asked the U.S. District Court for Minnesota to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from disclosing farmers’ and ranchers' personal information in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act Read More...
Will surplus, low prices, food processor pressures force farmers to change crops, how they grow?
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The Agriculture Department’s forecasts this week of record crops and low commodity prices plus reports that packaged food sales are flat and that more companies have committed to Oxfam’s sustainability goals are raising the questions of whether farmers will have to change some of their crop choices and practices in order to satisfy their customers and make a profit. Read More...
Soybean, corn growers discount EWG report
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association are discounting a report by the Environment Working Group Thursday that children who go to school within 20 feet of a corn or soybean field will be in danger if the Environmental Protection Agency approves a new herbicide. Read More...
DeLauro praises FSIS traceback proposal on ground beef
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service Thursday proposed new traceback procedures when it or another federal or state agency finds raw ground beef or bench trim that tests positive for Escherichia coli O157:H7. Read More...
Regional Federal Reserve banks issue reports
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis Federal Reserve banks all issued quarterly reports on the agricultural sector this week. Read More...
Fish and Wildlife seeks yellow-billed cuckoo protection
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of the Interior Department, proposed Thursday the designation of 546,335 acres of streamside habitat as critical to the survival of the yellow-billed cuckoo, a songbird. Read More...
McDaniel seeks win over Cochran in court
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
Chris McDaniel, the challenger to Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Thad Cochran, R-Miss., has asked a court to throw out 25,000 votes in their runoff election and declare him the winner of the race, reported The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson. Read More...
National Milk hires Detlefsen from IDFA
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The National Milk Producers Federation has hired Clay Detlefsen as senior vice president for regulatory and environmental affairs.
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National Corn Growers Association hires Myers
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The National Corn Growers Association has hired Jennifer Myers as communications manager, based in the Washington office. NCGA is based in St. Louis. Read More...
Sugar Association hires Gaine
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The Sugar Association has hired Courtney Gaine as vice president of scientific affairs. Read More...
Crop insurers do not have position on APH update
August 14, 2014 | 05:12 PM
The crop insurance companies that do business with the federal government do not have a position on whether the Agriculture Department should make it possible for farmers to update their actual production history (APH) quickly, The Hagstrom Report has learned. Read More...
Farm Policy Facts releases interactive map
August 14, 2014 | 05:12 PM
Farm Policy Facts has released an interactive map for each state that provides basic facts about that state’s number of farms, farm receipts, acres in farmland, farm receipts and crop insurance statistics. Read More...
Pork producers fight Japan ‘gate price’ in TPP talks
August 14, 2014 | 05:12 PM
The National Pork Producers Council said today that U.S. trade negotiators should insist in the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations that Japan get rid of its “gate price” system. Read More...
NYT: Native population rates in South vary dramatically
August 14, 2014 | 05:12 PM
The percentage of native population and the migration patterns from other states and countries vary dramatically in the Southern states and go a long way in explaining their politics today, The New York Times reported today. Read More...
National Rural Electric Co-op hires Jan Ahlen
August 14, 2014 | 05:12 PM
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has hired Jan Ahlen as its regulatory advocate. Read More...
Obama administration to ease lobbyist rules
August 13, 2014 | 12:46 PM
The Obama administration will make it easier for lobbyists to serve on the administration’s advisory panels, according to a Federal Register notice published today. Read More...
White House hosts ‘virtual’ kitchen garden field trip today
August 13, 2014 | 12:46 PM
White House Chef Chris Comerford will host a virtual Maker Camp field trip to First Lady Michelle Obama’s White House garden today at 2 p.m. EDT. Read More...
USDA announces $6 million available for rural nonprofits
August 13, 2014 | 12:46 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is seeking applications for grants to provide financial and technical assistance to housing, community facility and community and economic development projects. Read More...
Environmental Defense Fund launches ag blog
August 13, 2014 | 12:46 PM
The Environmental Defense Fund today launched an agricultural blog called Growing Returns that the groups says will show “we can meet growing demands for food in ways that improve the natural systems that sustain us.” Read More...
‘Aunt Jemima’ descendants sue over image
August 13, 2014 | 12:46 PM
The descendants of an actress who portrayed Aunt Jemima for the syrup brand have filed a lawsuit claiming $2 billion in royalties as the brand tries to modernize its image, Fortune reported. Read More...
European sugar growers fear sugar, ethanol in TTIP
August 13, 2014 | 12:46 PM
STOWE, Vt. — European sugar growers, manufacturers and refiners fear there could be sugar imports from the combined U.S.-Mexican market if sugar is brought up in the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, and also don’t want ethanol to be brought up, a key European sugar executive said here last week during a trade discussion at the American Sugar Alliance International Sweetener Symposium. Read More...
USDA establishing higher ed center for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers
August 13, 2014 | 12:46 PM
The Agriculture Department will sponsor the establishment of a Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center at an 1870 land-grant college or university. Read More...
Pacific Northwest port labor dispute settled, grain inspections resume
August 12, 2014 | 06:02 PM
The Pacific Northwest Grain Companies and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have reached a tentative agreement in their labor conflict and Washington state inspectors have resumed grain inspections at the Port of Vancouver. Read More...
Pervasive ‘carelessweed’ invades biotech fields
August 12, 2014 | 03:26 PM
Palmer amaranth, a weed with a glyphosate-resisting genetic mutation, is spreading, The New York Times reported today. Read More...
USDA forecasts record corn, soybean production
August 12, 2014 | 03:26 PM
Corn production this year may be the highest ever recorded for the United States, but slightly lower than predicted, the Agriculture Department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported today. Read More...
Hide, skin leather exports continue setting records
August 12, 2014 | 03:26 PM
U.S. hide, skin and leather exports totalled $1.43 billion through June, but the industry is plagued by lower cattle numbers, the U.S. Hide, Skin and Leather Association reported today. Read More...
Farmers Markets stamps limited to 100 million
August 12, 2014 | 03:26 PM
If you want the Farmers Markets “Forever” stamps that were released last week, buy them now because the U.S. Postal Service will print only 100 million of them. Read More...
United Fresh meeting to kick off fall appropriations battle over school meals
August 12, 2014 | 03:26 PM
The United Fresh Produce Association signaled today that its Washington conference on September 8 to 10 will focus on the continuing battle over fall school meals, just as Congress returns for a short session that must include some type of bill to fund the government for the next fiscal year that begins October 1. Read More...
Kessler hired by U.S. Grains Council
August 12, 2014 | 03:26 PM
The U.S. Grains Council has hired Melissa George Kessler as director of communications. Read More...
Analyst: Millenials not eating as much sugar, grocery sales flat
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
STOWE, Vt. — American “Millenials” — people born between 1977 and 1994 — are eating less sugar than older generations, while overall grocery sales are flat, a key consumer industry trade analyst said here last week at the American Sugar Alliance’s annual International Sweetener Symposium. Read More...
Key USDA report expected to project huge crop
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
A key Agriculture Department World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report is set to be released Tuesday. The report is important because it is based on field surveys, but analysts have already said they expect it to confirm huge corn and soybean crops. Read More...
Glickman elected chairman of new Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
The board of the newly formed Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research elected former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman as its first chairman late last week, The Hagstrom Report has learned. Read More...
Froman travels to Seattle
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
Trade Representative Michael Froman will travel to Seattle on Tuesday for a speech and a visit to Cascade Designs, a company that makes sleeping bags, snowshoes, wheelchairs, and other outdoor products that are being exported around the world. Read More...
Caterpillar, Walmart announce Africa commitments
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
The Caterpillar Foundation and Walmart last Wednesday announced commitments to African agriculture-related programs during a day-long symposium hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama and former First Lady Laura Bush. Read More...
House, Senate members send letter opposing managed U.S.-Mexican sugar trade
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
A bipartisan group of 63 House members sent Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack a letter last week opposing any agreement to manage the sugar trade between Mexico and the United States. Read More...
Farmer Veteran Coalition to hold conference
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
The Farmer Veteran Coalition will host a first-of-its-kind national gathering for organizations that serve military veterans pursuing food, farming and agricultural careers November 14 to 15 at the Drake University Agricultural Law Center in Des Moines. Read More...
Tiny LA County town mounts aggressive antiobesity effort
August 11, 2014 | 04:33 PM
A Russian-born doctor is leading an aggressive antiobesity effort in Hawaiian Gardens, Calif., that involves children shouting against certain products, the Los Angeles Times reported over the weekend. Read More...
Restaurant eaters consume more calories, unhealthy foods
August 08, 2014 | 03:08 PM
People who eat in restaurants consume 200 more calories and eat more sugar, fat and salt and fewer fruits and vegetables than those who eat at home, according to a study published today in Public Health Nutrition. Read More...
Beef Checkoff battle drags on and on
August 08, 2014 | 03:08 PM
The three-year attempt to make recommendations to Congress to revamp the Beef Checkoff program may be in trouble. Recently, the 11 groups that make up the Beef Checkoff Enhancement Working Group apparently came up with a set of recommendations some members view as a last attempt at consensus. Read More...
GAO: Adjusting school-meal income eligibility complicated
August 08, 2014 | 03:08 PM
Adjusting the income eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals to reflect geographic differences in income would have effects that are difficult to predict but could lead to increased program costs, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday. Read More...
Cotton farmers can enroll in transition program
August 08, 2014 | 03:08 PM
Cotton farmers can enroll in the Cotton Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) established under the 2014 farm bill starting Monday through October 7, the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency announced Thursday. Read More...
FERN: Lake Erie algae problem could be easily remedied
August 08, 2014 | 03:08 PM
The Lake Erie algae bloom problem that disrupted water supplies in Toledo and other areas of Ohio could be solved relatively easily, the Food & Environment Reporting Network said in an update of a 2012 article. Read More...
Vilsack awaits security report on Port of Vancouver as United Grain, House GOP ag leaders ask for inspectors
August 07, 2014 | 07:20 PM
With harvest progressing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is under increasing pressure to resolve the lack of grain inspections at the Port of Vancouver in Washington state, but he said today he is waiting for a final report from USDA’s own internal security team before taking any action. Read More...
U.S., farm leaders say food import ban will hurt Russia more than United States
August 07, 2014 | 07:20 PM
U.S. officials and American farmer leaders joined together in the last 24 hours to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ban on U.S. food imports would hurt his country and the Russian people more than American producers. Read More...
Froman to join Kind in Wisconsin
August 07, 2014 | 07:20 PM
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will join Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., in Melrose, Wis., on Monday to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade agreements. Read More...
Garcia retires from Farm Service Agency
August 07, 2014 | 07:20 PM
Agriculture Department Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan Garcia has retired, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today. Read More...
USDA celebrates release of farmers market stamp
August 07, 2014 | 07:20 PM
The U.S. Postal Service today released four farmers market “Forever” stamps in a ceremony at the FRESHFARM Market on Vermont Avenue that is closest to the White House. Read More...
Vilsack to unveil Farmers Markets postage stamps Thursday
August 06, 2014 | 11:26 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will join U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and others Thursday at a ceremony near the White House marking the release of new first-class limited edition “Forever” stamps celebrating farmers markets. Read More...
Vilsack notes farm bill implementation at six months; can’t fix Lucas APH history complaint
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
On the eve of the six-month anniversary of the 2014 farm bill, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters he is proud of USDA’s record on implementation, but noted that farmers will not be able to update their actual production history records until the 2016 crop year. Read More...
Farm Bureau: Obama administration best at implementing farm bill
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
STOWE, Vt. — The Obama administration has done a better job of implementing the farm bill than other recent administrations, a key American Farm Bureau Federation official said here Tuesday. Read More...
Vilsack announces new partners on ag open data
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
As the White House released a compilation of the events associated with this week’s U.S.-Africa leaders summit, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced four new African partners in USDA’s initiative to share government-gathered information with the rest of the world. Read More...
USDA will miss deadline for trade undersecretary report
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today that he will miss Thursday’s congressional deadline to submit a report on establishing an undersecretary for trade, and that he will not file it until he is satisfied it is complete. Read More...
Vilsack concerned about safety at Port of Vancouver
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today he is concerned about the safety of grain inspectors at the Port of Vancouver in Washington state.
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Russia bans U.S. agricultural imports
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
Russia today banned agricultural imports from any country that has put sanctions on it, which includes the United States.
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NGFA asks STB to eliminate or modify ‘safe harbor’ fuel surcharges
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
The National Grain and Feed Association today asked the Surface Transportation Board to eliminate or significantly modify a provision of its rules that immunizes railroads from being required to refund fuel surcharges that exceed their incremental internal cost increases, so long as they base their surcharges on a specific fuel-cost index. Read More...
Roberts, Pompeo, Huelskamp win in Kansas while Missouri farm amendment faces recount
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
In key election results Tuesday, three incumbent Republican Kansas lawmakers — Sen. Pat Roberts and Reps. Mike Pompeo and Tim Huelskamp — beat back challengers. Read More...
McDaniel files challenge to Cochran in Mississippi
August 06, 2014 | 04:07 PM
Chris McDaniel, the opponent in the Mississippi primary and runoff against Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., has filed a case against Cochran’s declared victory in the runoff. Read More...
Analyst: Sugar growers probably will win cases against Mexico
August 05, 2014 | 07:18 PM
STOWE, Vt. — U.S. sugar growers are likely to win the antidumping and countervailing duty cases against the Mexican sugar industry that they filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission, a key sugar analyst said here this week at the American Sugar Alliance annual International Sweetener Symposium. Read More...
USDA, USAID to help U.S. companies do business in Africa
August 05, 2014 | 07:18 PM
The Agriculture Department and the Agency for International Development both made commitments today to help U.S. firms do business in Africa, the White House announced as part of President Barack Obama’s summit with African leaders. Read More...
Study: Increased food stamp enrollment contrary to some perceptions
August 05, 2014 | 07:18 PM
The increase in participation in the food stamp program after the 2008-09 recession was clustered in certain areas and somewhat different from some media reports and past patterns, sociologist Tim Slack of Louisiana State University reported in Choices magazine. Read More...
Scuse tells sugar growers administration will protect them in trade talks
August 04, 2014 | 06:17 PM
STOWE, Vt. — The uncertainty surrounding sugar imports from Mexico has made it harder and harder to manage the U.S. sugar program, but the Obama administration is committed to reducing risks for sugar growers and will protect U.S. sugar in trade negotiations, Agriculture Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse said here today. Read More...
White House makes new Africa food security commitments while NGOS ask for more legislation soon
August 04, 2014 | 06:17 PM
As part of President Barack Obama’s summit with African leaders in Washington this week, the White House announced today new commitments to African countries on food security and climate change, while a coalition of nonprofit groups said it would ask Congress to pass additional food security legislation this fall. Read More...
USDA seeks input on releasing SNAP retailer data
August 04, 2014 | 06:17 PM
The Agriculture Department announced today it is seeking public input concerning a proposal to provide more information about the amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits used at particular grocery stores and retailers, and published that request today in the Federal Register. Read More...
Flower Caucus asks for ‘formal’ White House policy on flowers
August 04, 2014 | 06:17 PM
The co-founders of the Congressional Cut Flower Caucus wrote President Barack Obama today asking him to establish a formal policy for using American-grown flowers at the White House. Read More...
EPA extends deadline for 2013 renewable fuel standard
August 01, 2014 | 05:04 PM
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday extended the compliance deadline for the 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard.
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Agencies release voluntary biogas reduction program
August 01, 2014 | 05:04 PM
The Agriculture Department, Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency today released a program of voluntary actions that the livestock industry and the dairy industry in particular can take to reduce methane emissions and turn the methane into biogas. Read More...
Froman travels to Iowa next week
August 01, 2014 | 05:04 PM
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will travel to Iowa late next week, his office announced today. Read More...
Stallman: WTO failure hurts agriculture ‘especially’
August 01, 2014 | 05:04 PM
The failure of the World Trade Organization to move forward with a Trade Facilitation Agreement will hurt agriculture in particular, a key U.S. farm leader said today, while a WTO expert said that any change in India’s position on advancing the agreement will have to come from within India.
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Turkey plants can increase line speeds as criticism of poultry rule continues
August 01, 2014 | 05:04 PM
Turkey plants will be allowed to increase slightly the speeds at which those birds can whiz by inspectors under a little-noticed provision in the rule the Agriculture Department finalized on Thursday to modernize the poultry inspection system that was first put in place in 1957. Read More...
Stabenow, 12 other Dem senators ask EPA for clarity on WOTUS
August 01, 2014 | 05:04 PM
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on Thursday asked the Obama administration to provide more clarity on the impact of the Waters of the U.S. rule. Read More...