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News Articles: USDA

Tagged as: 

  • Climate

The USDA's gardening zones shifted. This map shows you what's changed in vivid detail

There's a good chance your zone shifted when the USDA updated its plant hardiness map in 2023. Zoom in on what that means for your garden.

May 13, 2024
|
By:
  • Daniel Wood,
  • Connie Hanzhang Jin,
  • and 4 more
After farmers implement provisional practices the government then quantifies the actual climate impact. Professor Silvia Secchi of the University of Iowa says, "This jumping the gun of paying the farmers and then finding the evidence is super problematic."

Tagged as: 

  • Climate

Farms fuel global warming. Billions in tax dollars likely aren't helping - report

A new report finds some of the "climate-smart" agricultural practices that the USDA are subsidizing may not reduce emissions. It adds up to billions of taxpayer dollars.

February 29, 2024
|
By:
  • Julia Simon
Sharifa Tomlinson runs Arrowrock Farm in Riverside, Ohio, where she sells her chickens to a U.S. Agriculture Department-funded program that processes them for food banks. She wants to help other Black farmers tap into the department's programs.

Tagged as: 

  • Climate

Can $3 billion persuade Black farmers to trust the Department of Agriculture?

The Biden administration hopes changes to farming can help achieve its climate agenda. The Department of Agriculture has an additional goal: improving service to Black and other underserved farmers.

January 08, 2024
|
By:
  • Amy Mayer
food bank supply

Tagged as: 

  • Food

Possible shortfalls for federal food assistance have stakeholders on edge

Some nutrition programs are at risk of funding shortfalls as politicians spar over federal spending. Supplemental nutrition programs help millions of people every year who otherwise could not afford food.

December 18, 2023
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas

Tagged as: 

  • Climate

'It feels like I'm not crazy.' Gardeners aren't surprised as USDA updates key map

The USDA is updating an important map for gardeners and growers picking plants and flowers. The new map shows the contiguous U.S. is about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the last map 11 years ago.

November 17, 2023
|
By:
  • Julia Simon
Hanmei Hoffman and her husband Derrick Hoffman farm in Greeley, Colorado, where most of their produce is sold to schools. Here she's moving boxes of cucumbers from a refrigerated container and loading them onto a waiting truck to deliver them to schools along Colorado's Front Range.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Growing 'farm to school' movement serves up fresh, local produce to kids

Some school meal programs buy fruit and veggies from local farms, improving kids' diets and supporting the agricultural economy. A boost in federal funds to expand these efforts runs out next year.

October 24, 2023
|
By:
  • Rae Solomon
In this Sept. 19, 2021 file photo, flames burn up a tree as part of the Windy Fire in the Trail of 100 Giants grove in Sequoia National Forest, Calif.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

Thousands of federal firefighters face a looming pay cut. How much is up to Congress

The bipartisan infrastructure law granted federal firefighters a big pay bump. Amid a looming government shutdown, that wage increase will expire, leaving first responders unsure about their income.

September 25, 2023
|
By:
  • Ximena Bustillo
Xochitl Torres Small is sworn in as the Department of Agriculture's deputy secretary at USDA in Washington, D.C., on July 17. She was sworn in by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

USDA brings on Xochitl Torres Small, the first Latina deputy secretary

Her promotion comes during a busy time for USDA. There is a farm bill on the Hill as well as a broader focus from Democrats on rural America.

July 18, 2023
|
By:
  • Ximena Bustillo
Sheena Hartry hands out lunch bags to kids at a neighborhood in south Macon during the second to last week of the Bibb County School District's mobile summer lunch program.

Tagged as: 

  • Children's Health

Feeding thousands of kids a day during the summer takes a lot of work. For many, it's crucial

Federally funded summer meal programs, like the one run by the Bibb County School District in Macon, fill the gap during for families experiencing food insecurity.

July 11, 2023
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
The Smithfield feed processing mill producing food for nearby hog-raising farms in Milford, Utah.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

China owns 380,000 acres of land in the U.S. Here's where

Chinese companies and individuals own farmland across America. But lawmakers in Washington are pushing to block any purchases that could be connected to the Chinese Communist Party.

June 27, 2023
|
By:
  • Ximena Bustillo and
  • Connie Hanzhang Jin
Nuri and Sofia Icgoren operate an organic farm in Atlanta's Lakewood Heights neighborhood.

Tagged as: 

  • Business

Farmers looking for organic certification can apply for share of $70M in USDA assistance

A fresh batch of federal funding is being made available to Georgia farmers who are in the process of transitioning to organic crop production and seeking USDA organic-certified status. The deadline to apply is June 15.

May 02, 2023
|
By:
  • Benjamin Payne
Fort Valley State’s campus in a Telegraph file photo. FVSU was cited by the USDA in February for the third time in three inspections. Jason Vorhees jvorhees@macon.com

Tagged as: 

  • News

USDA cites Fort Valley State veterinary science for fraudulent report, animal treatment

The federal government cited Fort Valley State University’s veterinary science department for six violations during an annual inspection in February, marking the third time in three years the school has been hit with multiple citations.

March 22, 2023
|
By:
  • Micah Johnston
Lateef Dowdell watches the sunrise on Jan. 14, 2021, from what remains of land once belonging to his uncle Gil Alexander, who was the last active Black farmer in the community of Nicodemus, Kan.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

Black farmers worry new approach on 'race neutral' lending leaves them in the shadows

White farmers' suits blocked a USDA program and led to a race-neutral approach.

February 27, 2023
|
By:
  • Ximena Bustillo
Lucious Abrams, a plaintiff in the Pigford v. Glickman class action lawsuit, stands in front of a tractor on his Georgia farm.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

In 2022, Black farmers were persistently left behind from the USDA's loan system

An NPR data analysis shows Black farmers were accepted for USDA direct loans at a lower rate than other racial groups in 2022. Direct loans are supposed to be among the easiest for farmers to get.

February 19, 2023
|
By:
  • Ximena Bustillo
A sign noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which SNAP beneficiaries use to pay for food, is displayed at a grocery store in 2019 in Oakland, Calif. SNAP emergency allotments are ending after this month and have already ended in some parts of the country.

Tagged as: 

  • National

SNAP recipients will lose their pandemic boost and may face other reductions by March

Congress ended the temporary benefit meant to help low-income households with pandemic-era hardships. A huge increase in Social Security benefits may mean some households see further SNAP reductions.

February 02, 2023
|
By:
  • Kaitlyn Radde
  • Load More

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