U.S. dairy groups said Monday they are concerned that provisions in the proposed European Union-Canadian free trade agreement on geographical indications (GIs) and reallocation of a portion of the World Trade Organization tariff rate quota for cheese to the EU will create trade barriers for American cheeses. Read More...

In a white paper on high-fructose corn syrup and social media, the Corn Refiners Association says that social media often ignores “conventional media.”
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House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said in a radio interview on Monday that the 2014 farm bill may be so successful and the battle over the 2018 bill might be so difficult that Congress might extend the new bill. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday clarified the opening and closing dates for farm program signup in 2014 and 2015. Read More...

The Obama administration will try to convince Congress during the lame-duck session to pass legislation giving its Feed the Future program permanent authorization, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah told The Hagstrom Report today. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a $31.5 million food stamp fruit and vegetable program that breaks new ground in government assistance to make it cheaper for low income people to buy produce. Read More...

The Agriculture Department today announced an elaborate set of rules for grants under the Food Insecurity Nutrition Program (FINI). Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the award of more than $52 million in support of the organic industry and local and regional food systems through five USDA grant programs. Read More...

Benjamin Becker, the national spokesman for Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, is leaving to join Precision Strategies, a communications consulting firm. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the implementation of the commodity title of the farm bill in the company of Minnesota Democratic Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar and Democratic Reps. Collin Peterson and Tim Walz, the Associated Press reported. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has named Al Almanza, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service administrator since 2007, as a deputy undersecretary for food safety, a newly created position, The Hagstrom Report has learned. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — Journalists covering the Clinton Global Initiative meeting here this week got a taste of the future of sodas when the snacks provided to them included 7.5 ounce cans of Coca Cola and Sprite clearly marked 90 calories each, rather than the usual 12 ounce cans marked 140 calories. Read More...

John Norris, a longtime political associate of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, has arrived in Rome to assume the position of minister-counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations agencies in that city. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today that he has no plans to leave his job, despite speculation about his future after Attorney General Eric Holder announced his plans to step down once a successor has been nominated and confirmed. Read More...

In a lengthy statement today, the National Pork Producers Council thanked U.S. trade officials “for diligently working to achieve an outcome in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations that would benefit all sectors of our nation’s economy, including agriculture,” and expressed “deep disappointment in Japan’s continuing rejection of the fundamental terms of a successful TPP agreement, as agreed upon by leaders of all participating TPP nations prior to Japan’s entry into the negotiations last year.” Read More...

Crop farm owners may begin updating their yield history and reallocating base acres at their local Farm Service Agency county offices for the new farm program on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today in a call to reporters from Minnesota. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — Several U.S. farm leaders announced here that a three-year North American Climate-Smart Agriculture Initiative will be part of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture. Read More...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will unveil the rules for the Price Loss Coverage and Agricultural Risk Coverage on Thursday, The Hagstrom Report has learned. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — A long list of small nongovernmental organizations has rejected the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture, but World Farmers’ Organization President Peter Kendall, a former British farm leader, defended it today in an interview with The Hagstrom Report. Read More...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said late Wednesday that despite meetings of U.S. and Japanese officials Tuesday and Wednesday there was no major progress on the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today participated in the launch of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture here today as details of the organization emerged, U.S. farm groups announced their participation in a North American effort, Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the alliance and the first criticism of it emerged. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — Secretary of State John Kerry hosted a reception here tonight for the members of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture and gave his backing to the campaign to find ways to address climate change in agriculture. Read More...

Ramona Romero, the general counsel of the Agriculture Department since 2011, will become general counsel at Princeton University on December 1, Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber announced today. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — The Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture was launched here today, but its origins go back four years to a meeting between the head of agriculture at the World Bank and Dutch agriculture officials. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — President Barack Obama today spoke at the United Nations Climate Summit here and the White House released a fact sheet that includes the U.S. commitments on programs to address agriculture climate change issues. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will all commit the United States to supporting “climate-smart agriculture” here this week at the U.N. Climate Summit and related events. Read More...

NEW YORK CITY — President Barack Obama and other administration officials are making further U.S. commitments to address climate change in the midst of a city focused on climate change issues. Read More...

A coalition of U.S. farm and agriculture groups late last week sent Trade Representative Michael Froman a letter praising the tough stance the United States has taken in the World Trade Organization over India’s unwillingness to agree to the Trade Facilitation Agreement reached in Bali without some assurances on the public stockholding of food. Read More...

The Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has mapped the organic content of soils throughout the country, NRCS Chief Jason Weller told the House Agriculture Conservation, Energy, and Forestry Subcommittee hearing on soil health last week. Read More...

The National Farmers Union today submitted comments on the Waters of the United States rule that the farm group said were designed to advise the Environmental Protection Agency on how draft a final rule “that does not increase [Clean Water Act] jurisdiction and promotes consistent application of EPA policies, which aligns with the agencies’ stated intent.” Read More...

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it would not appeal a court decision in a case the agency brought against a confined animal feeding operation owned by West Virginia farmer Lois Alt. Read More...

The offices of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., today released the texts of bills to make the Feed the Future program at the U.S. Agency for International Development permanent. Read More...

In a report with implications for changes to the school meals program, the Centers for Disease Control reported this week that 90 percent of Americans between the ages of 6 and 18 eat substantially too much sodium. Read More...

Republican senators Pat Roberts of Kansas and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., who slowed down the farm bill over food stamps, are facing trouble in their re-election campaigns over their farm bill stances, Politico reported this week. Read More...

Will Allen, a Milwaukee-based urban agriculture advocate, said late last week he wants to establish an urban agriculture office in Washington to urge Congress to put more money into sustainable agriculture in the next farm bill. Read More...

Food companies that signed agreements with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in 2011 to develop healthier school foods at competitive prices have seen substantial and continual increases in sales, according to data released early today by the alliance, a joint project of the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association. Read More...

Food & Water Watch on Thursday filed suit in federal court against the Agriculture Department to stop the implementation of the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) rules. Read More...

Stakeholders in the remaining Food and Drug Administration rules to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 should not expect any extensions of the comment periods once they are released by the Office of Management and Budget, Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner for Food Michael Taylor said Wednesday. Read More...

Vice President Joe Biden presents Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., with the World Food Program USA’s McGovern-Dole Leadership Award on Wednesday evening in the Columbus Room of Union Station. Read More...

The problems on the railroads — shortages of cars, delays and high prices — are much broader than what is happening in the Upper Plains, where there are fears this year's crop won’t get moved, witnesses told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Wednesday. Read More...

After a confirmation hearing Wednesday on Lisa Afua Serwah Mensah to become Agriculture undersecretary for rural development, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said that she hopes to move the nomination to the Senate floor as soon as possible, maybe before the Senate leaves on September 23 until after the November 4 elections. Read More...

The House of Representatives will vote as early as Tuesday on a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 11, the House Daily Gallery advised reporters today. Read More...

Agriculture Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Affairs Ed Avalos wrote the Surface Transportation Board in August asking that it focus on the performance of the Canadian Pacific Railways and Company and in a separate document suggested mediation and arbitration over rail rates. Read More...

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Tim Massad has decided to “sponsor” the CFTC’s agricultural advisory committee, which advises the commission on matters involving the trading of agricultural commodity futures, options and swaps, and facilitates communications among the CFTC, the agricultural community, and agriculture-related organizations. Read More...

The war over healthier school meal rules appears likely to intensify as Congress considers the fiscal year 2015 and 2016 Agriculture appropriations bills and reauthorization of child nutrition programs. Read More...

The House late Tuesday passed a bill that would stop the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing the Waters of the United States rule, but the measure is given little chance of consideration in the Senate, much less being signed by President Barack Obama. Read More...

The Government Accountability Office released a report Tuesday suggesting that Congress consider reducing crop insurance premium subsidies. Read More...

The House Republican leadership announced Tuesday that it would propose an extension of the Export-Import Bank charter through June 2015, the National Journal reported late Tuesday, but supporters of the bank said they would still work toward a multiyear reauthorization. Read More...