It has been periodically charged that USDA has a bias in favor of farmers over consumers, and the agency’s local effort is evidence of the difficulty serving the needs of both.
Reacting to a Tampa Bay Times story (“Farm to Fable”) about restaurants making false claims regarding the sourcing of the foods they serve, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack reportedly said, “As this industry matures and grows there’s going to be the need for standardization for what it means by local and regional.” The “local” food movement has been nurtured by USDA in an effort to boost the income of smaller farms, particularly those nearer to urban centers. It is consistent with the government’s efforts since the 1...
What You Need to Know Today: A third U.S. border crossing (Columbus, New Mexico) has reopened to Mexican cattle imports following nearly two years of restrictions related to New World screwworm. The reopening could gradually improve feeder cattle availability, although more than 60 confi...
Yesterday, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released a new report of negotiated cash purchases of cattle under the mandatory price report. The report included Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The goal of the report was to solve the confidentiality issues e...
Key Takeaways: U.S. soybean crushing began in 1911 and saw its most rapid expansion during the 1930s amid the broader agricultural and technology revolutions of the time. After peaking in the early 2000s, the soybean crushing industry went through a downturn as poor crush margins forced...
