Oxfam, the British-based international charity, said today that Mars, Mondelēz International (formerly part of Kraft) and Nestlé have “made some progress” on the promises they made to Oxfam in 2013 to improve gender equality in their cocoa supply chains” but “significant gaps still remain.” Read More...

The decline in public research on plant breeding has led to farmers' having fewer choices of seed, according to a report released today by the the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), a farmer-based nonprofit organization based in Pittsboro, N.C., and member of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Read More...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today denied a request from the American Meat Institute and other groups for a rehearing on a motion for preliminary injunction to block implementation of the Agriculture Department's May 2013 final rule on country-of-origin labeling. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will make $29 million in loans and grants to provide housing for farmworkers and their families. Read More...

The Agriculture Department is always look for new uses for agriculture commodities and the James Beard Foundation's caterers found one for their gala dinner in New York City on Monday — as the base for serving hors d'oeuvres. Read More...

China is lifting its suspension of red and golden delicious apple imports from Washington State, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today. Read More...

The National Association of Conservation Districts today asked the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw the proposed rule defining “Waters of the United States” in comments it filed. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — “Easy access to calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods” has become a health problem on which doctors should focus, Tim Harlan, an internist who is the executive director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University said here this week at the James Beard Foundation Food Conference. Read More...

A long list of agriculture organizations and other groups sent Congress a letter today asking members to “immediately authorize and direct” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack “to rescind elements of COOL [country-of-origin labeling for red meat] that have been determined to be non-compliant with international trade obligations by a final WTO [World Trade Organization] adjudication.” Read More...

The National Milk Producers Federation has hired Emily Metz Meredith as vice president of animal care. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — Ben Burkett, a Mississippi farmer who is president of the National Family Farm Coalition, was one of the winners of the James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards announced this week at a gala dinner here in conjunction with the foundation’s annual food conference.
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Independent Kansas Senate candidate Greg Orman has been campaigning in rural Kansas against Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, the Associated Press reports. Read More...

National Milk Producers Federation CEO Jim Mulhern parted with the usually restrained and jargonistic world of agricultural trade negotiations Tuesday to present in colorful terms his views of attempts to include provisions in the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations that would use “geographical indicators” to determine that certain cheeses could only use place names if produced in the places where they originated. Read More...

The Agriculture Department is extending the signup deadline for the new dairy Margin Protection Program to December 5, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today. Read More...

Here are the agreements that U.S. and Mexican officials have signed to suspend the U.S. countervailing duty and antidumping duty investigations related to Mexican sugar imported into the United States. Read More...

The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service has released three studies analyzing aspects of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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The Agriculture Department will provide more than $4 million in technical and financial assistance to help farmers and ranchers in the Midwest improve the health of honey bees that play an important role in crop production, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today. Read More...

The consumer campaigns that have had substantial success in convincing food retailers and processors to change their purchasing habits are now urging Lowe’s and other retailers to stop selling certain pesticides that activists say kill bees. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday announced a new partnership between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that will provide $20 million in additional support for restoration of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem in response to impacts that occurred as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will decide whether to appeal the World Trade Organization decision that found fault with the U.S. country-of-origin labeling regime for red meat, and added that the WTO has asked any appeal to be held until January. Read More...

The American Sugar Alliance today praised the agreement between the Mexican and U.S. governments to place limits on Mexican sugar shipments to the United States and to suspend the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of sugar from Mexico, while the Sweetener Users Association said it was “deeply concerned” about the agreement. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — The Obama administration expects Congress to consider pulling back on some of the healthier meals regulations in the school lunch and breakfast programs if it passes an omnibus appropriations bill in the lame duck session, Sam Kass, the White House nutrition adviser and executive director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move program, said today at the James Beard Conference here. Read More...

The Commerce Department today made an announcement regarding duties on subsidized Mexican sugar exports to the United States. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — The recent lower earnings reports from McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are the “best indications” the success of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, Ezekiel Emanuel said here today at the James Beard Food Conference. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — Food and drink are more important than genes and the environment in causing premature deaths, but physicians, nurses and chefs do not have enough training in nutrition training to counter the impact on people’s health, Ezekiel Emanuel said here today at the James Beard Food Conference. Read More...

The James Beard Foundation and the Food Tank today released a guide to 400 organizations across the United States that the two groups say are “leading the way toward building a better food system.” Read More...

The Environmental Working Group today released a food database and mobile app that will include ratings and other information for more than 80,000 foods from about 1,500 brands in a searchable, online format. Read More...

U.S. military bases could improve their food offerings and help local farmers if the bases would commit themselves to buying locally produced food, former Rep. Eva Clayton, D-N.C., wrote today in The New York Times. Read More...

Shin Inouye, the White House press secretary whose portfolio has included agriculture and rural America, left that position Friday to become the press secretary and adviser for intergovernmental and external affairs at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security. Read More...

As Election Day nears, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week announced loans and grants in Alaska, North Carolina and Arkansas, where Democratic senators are tight re-election races, as well as USDA funding in other states. Read More...

More than 2,000 medical professionals sent Trader Joe's a letter Thursday urging the grocery chain to stop selling meat from animals raised on antibiotics.
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With the National Organic Standards Board set to meet next week in Louisville, the Organic Trade Association has published a booklet explaining the board's processing of decision-making and the issues to be discussed. Read More...

As a Commerce Department decision deadline loomed today on import duties on subsidized Mexican sugar, the Sweetener Users Association released a paper Thursday on the economic impact of the antidumping and countervailing duty cases filed in March by U.S. sugar growers against Mexican sugar imports. Read More...

Outgoing House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., is considering challenging House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, for the chairmanship of the Financial Services Committee, Politico reported Thursday. Read More...

A compost experiment that began seven years ago on a Marin County, California ranch has shown that a a one-time dusting of compost substantially boosted the soil’s carbon storage and can be used as a weapon against climate change. Read More...

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Scientific Advisory Board review panel endorsed the Waters of the United States rule Thursday as a group of Republican senators called for withdrawal of the interpretive rule for agriculture associated with it and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union released a video endorsing the rule. Read More...

Leaders of four groups that have campaigned for country-of-origin labeling for red meat said today that the U.S. government should appeal the World Trade Organization decision this week that the current U.S. labeling regime discriminates against Canada and Mexico and causes damages to their producers. Read More...

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced today that a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has found in favor of the United States in a case challenging a ban India placed on various U.S. agricultural products — such as poultry meat, eggs, and live pigs — on the grounds that it was needed to protect against avian influenza. Read More...

First Lady Michelle Obama led students from Arizona, California, Ohio and Washington, D.C., today in harvesting the White House kitchen garden. They were joined by a group of chefs to cook the harvested food, and the first lady announced that all 54 winners of this year’s Kids’ “State Dinner” have been paired with chefs in their communities to host free and healthy cooking demonstrations this fall. Read More...

In declaring this week as National School Lunch Week, President Barack Obama has emphasized the importance of healthier eating while the School Nutrition Association continues to call for changes to the rules implemented under the 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act. Read More...

The White House has announced it will open its gardens and grounds including First Lady Michelle Obama’s kitchen garden to visitors on Saturday, October 18 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT, and Sunday, October 19 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT. Read More...

PBS this evening will air a documentary exploring the issue of antibiotics in raising animals. Read More...

The Agriculture Department’s cafeterias, whose menus were revamped in 2013 to make them healthier, have gotten little-noticed rave reviews from tourists on the online review site Trip Advisor. Read More...

The Agriculture Department this week announced plans to expand eligibility and increase lending limits for beginning and family farmers.
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The National Farmers Union has hired several new employees and also brought on North Bridge Communications to manage its public affairs relations.
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The drama over school meals continued Wednesday, following the online publication of The New York Times Magazine article “How School Lunch Became the Latest Political Battleground.” Read More...

The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation announced today that the 92nd annual National Christmas Tree Lighting on the White House Ellipse at President’s Park will be held Thursday, December 4 at 5 p.m. Read More...

Continuing to react to rail car shortages and delays in the Midwest, the Surface Transportation Board on Wednesday required that all railroads nationwide reveal more data about shipment delays of all products — including those from agriculture, energy and other commodities — on October 22. Read More...

The Senate may be out of session for another month, but Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has led 31 of his colleagues to sign a letter urging Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and ranking member Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to reject efforts to weaken or suspend country-of-origin labeling for red meat in any fiscal 2015 appropriations legislation. Read More...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., appears to regret the role that she played in the congressional fight over pizza in the school lunch program, the New York Times Magazine reported Tuesday in a lengthy account of the battles over the content of school meals. Read More...

The Agriculture Department today issued a report on the rural biobased economy called “Why Biobased?” Read More...

Food & Water Watch, the Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League and the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union Tuesday urged the Office of Management and Budget to finalize the rule for the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to take over inspection of catfish from the Food and Drug Administration. Read More...

The Humane Society of the United States announced Tuesday that it had established an Oklahoma agriculture council, its eighth. Read More...

George Mason University’s School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs has scheduled a Summit on Global Food Security and Health event to be held October 16 from noon to 4:45 pm at GMU’s Arlington Campus.

Speakers include two former officials of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Feed the Future initiative, Julie Howard and William Garvelink

The conference, which the university intends to become an annual event, is open to the public with a free lunch. Registration is required.

▪ George Mason University – Summit on Global Food Security and Health
▪ — Flyer
▪ — Agenda
▪ — Online registration

The United Fresh Produce Association board has decided to recast its foundation to focus solely on health and nutrition, and has made staff changes to implement the change. Read More...

The Environmental Protection Agency has extended the comment period on the controversial Waters of the United States rule from October 20 until November 14. Read More...

Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, has been designated a 1890 land-grant institution, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack celebrated the designation Tuesday at an event at the school. Read More...

In a study to be published today, Consumer Reports found that “Virtually all of the samples we tested of products that made only a ‘natural’ claim did have a substantial amount of genetically modified organisms.” Read More...

Half of the Americans who don’t use the Internet are from rural areas, a disproportionately high percentage, according to two recently released studies.
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The Canadian government has made progress in developing a system to protect U.S. suppliers of fresh produce to Canada if a buyer fails to pay for a shipment or declares bankruptcy, and the U.S. government’s recent decision to require Canadian entities to present a surety bond in the case of a complaint is “contrary to the spirit” of an agreement to resolve the issue, a Canadian Embassy spokeswoman told The Hagstrom Report on Monday. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — Three familiar faces in agriculture — Monsanto Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant, Hershey President and CEO John Bilbrey, and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, now with Apple computers — all attempted to address the reputation of corporations and their executives on the environment at the recent Clinton Global Initiative meeting here.
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The Agriculture Department’s Risk Management Agency announced late Friday that it had established a varying premium subsidy as part of the new Whole-Farm Revenue Protection insurance policy included in the 2014 farm bill. Read More...

Agricultural economists and professors who write crop insurance policies and also analyze and criticize farm programs often have conflicts of interest, David Rogers wrote in Politico on Friday. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will speak at a Chicago Council on Global Affairs luncheon in Chicago on Monday. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the beef checkoff “enhancement” group this week that he is so frustrated that they have not reached agreement in their three-year effort that he wants to start a second checkoff under the 1996 generic checkoff act. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a $91 million loan guarantee to help finance an advanced biofuel plant in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Read More...

U.S and European Union negotiators are finishing a week-long session of negotiations on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership today, Washington Trade Daily reported. Read More...

Western Growers, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA), the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), United Fresh Produce Association, Florida Tomato Exchange, the Northwest Horticultural Council and the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) expressed disappointment Thursday that the Canadian government had failed to establish a system that would protect U.S. suppliers of fresh produce to Canada if a buyer fails to pay for a shipment or declares bankruptcy. Read More...

Oxfam America, the international charity that earlier expressed enthusiasm for Brazil’s decision to bring the cotton case against the United States, is disappointed in the final outcome, Gawain Kripke, Oxfam America director of policy and research, wrote in a blog post this week. Read More...

Livestock producers increased their use of antibiotics by 16 percent between 2009 and 2012, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. Read More...

As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy traveled to Milwaukee today to tour small businesses focused on clean water, EPA responded to a statement Thursday from the Small Business Administration’s Advocacy Office that EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should withdraw the Waters of the United States rule. Read More...

New York chef Tom Colicchio on Wednesday launched a campaign against Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who is running against Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor, D-Ark. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced in Miami nearly $118 million in grants to strengthen markets for specialty crops, such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery crops. Read More...

The Agriculture Department this week awarded 17 grants in 12 states to help small, socially disadvantaged agricultural producers expand their operations and create jobs. Read More...

Total U.S. payments to Brazil’s cotton growers to settle the World Trade Organization cotton case will amount to $805.5 million, an Agriculture Department spokesman told The Hagstrom Report today. Read More...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative provided the following background on the Brazil-U.S. cotton case, which it announced today had been settled. Read More...

The Brazilian Cotton Producers Association said today that it had achieved a victory in the U.S. government’s changes to the GM-102 program and the U.S. agreement to pay $300 million to the Brazilian Cotton Institute to settle the case Brazil won against the U.S. cotton program in the World Trade Organization. Read More...

The National Cotton Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Foreign Trade Council today praised the agreement that U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today to settle the longstanding cotton dispute between the United States and Brazil in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Read More...