News you can use
News you can use
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WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday the finalization of Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity Under the Packers and Stockyards Act. The final rule will be effective 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. The final rule Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity Under the Packers and Stockyards Act (the Inclusive Competition Rule) establishes clearer, more effective standards under the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act for prohibited practices relating to discrimination,...
Press release The public comment period and oral comment registration are now open for the National Organic Standards Board Spring 2024 Meeting. Interested parties are encouraged to review the online meeting materials and provide feedback on topics included on the agenda. Meeting materials are now available online. They include the tentative agenda, proposals and discussion documents. Individual proposal documents are posted on the subcommittee web pages and as a single combined PDF on the NOSB Spring 2024 meeting webpage (...
BOZEMAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin signing up for the general Conservation Reserve Program starting March 4 and running through March 29, 2024. This conservation opportunity gives producers tools to conserve wildlife habitat while achieving other conservation benefits, including sequestering carbon and improving water quality and soil health. “The USDA has a long track record of fostering and supporting the vital relationship between agr...
Press release BOZEMAN — Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2024 crop year have until March 15, 2024, to revise elections and sign contracts. Both safety net programs, delivered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provide vital income support to farmers who experience substantial declines in crop prices or revenues for the 2024 crop year. In Montana, producers have completed 13,448 contracts to date, representing 54% of the more than 20,000 exp...
Press release WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched Monday a new initiative to help farmers cut costs and increase income using underutilized renewable technologies including smaller-scale wind projects. Through the Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy initiative, USDA is setting an initial goal of helping 400 individual farmers deploy smaller-scale wind projects using USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program. This goal is only possible bec...
Press release BOZEMAN — U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development in Montana acting state director Jake Ceartin announced Tuesday that organizations with capacity to provide assistance to agricultural producers applying for Rural Energy for America Program grants can now apply for funding to facilitate these efforts. “Agricultural producers are the backbone of rural and tribal economies in Montana but conceivably are at a disadvantage because they lack the capacity to access funding from programs like REAP,” Ceart...
MSU News Service BOZEMAN — Montana State University Extension’s Pesticide Education Program and participating MSU Extension offices will offer multiple introductory training opportunities for pesticide applicators in February and March. Initial private applicator trainings Initial private applicator trainings are seven-hour trainings for individuals to learn more about pesticides while qualifying for a Montana private applicator license. A private applicator license allows individuals to apply restricted-use pesticides on...
Press release HELENA — Montana Stockgrowers Association is accepting applications for its Young Cattlemen’s Conference scholarship. The conference will take place May 30 to June 6, 2024, and applications are due March 15, 2024. The Young Cattlemen’s Conference is an opportunity for cattlemen and cattlewomen between the ages of 25 and 50 to visit segments of the beef industry across the nation with young cattlemen from other states. Facilitated by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, participants will travel with nationa...
Press release HELENA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service — NASS — announced Tuesday the results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, spanning more than 6 million data points about America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them down to the county level. The information collected directly from producers shows a decrease in the total number of Montana farms. The data shows an increase in the number of new and beginning — operating 10 or fewer years on any farm — as well a...
Press release Montana Farmers Union members, farmers, and ranchers recently relayed the impacts of foreign policy on their day-to-day lives with Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Bill Russo, discussing the need to rebuild trade relations, opportunities for U.S. wheat in Canada, mandatory Country of Origin Labeling, food security and national security, immigration reform for ag labor, and concerns with foreign and corporate consolidation and ownership of our food and ag supply chains. Russo was keenly...
Press release SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday a new effort to train the next generation of conservation and climate leaders. As part of President Joe Biden’s American Climate Corps initiative, the Working Lands Climate Corps will provide technical training and career pathway opportunities for young people, helping them deliver economic benefits through climate-smart agriculture solutions for farmers and ranchers across the country, now and in the future. Learn more at the online White House fac...
Natural Resources Conservation Service BOZEMAN - At the beginning of January, more than half of NRCS snow monitoring stations in Montana and surrounding river basins reported their lowest snowpack on record. "Well-above-normal precipitation was needed to begin a recovery from lack of snow, yet precipitation was mostly below normal across Montana last month," Eric Larson, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service water supply specialist, said Monday. The exception was the...
Press release WASHINGTON — The U. S Department of Agriculture is issuing final Emergency Relief Program payments totaling approximately $306 million to eligible commodity and specialty crop producers who incurred losses due to natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. USDA’s Farm Service Agency will begin issuing these additional payments to eligible producers this week. “In the natural disaster recovery process, every little bit of available assistance helps offset the financial toll that these catastrophic events have taken...
From USDA WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Jan. 29 that most farm loan borrowers will be able to make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature at https://www.farmers.gov in early February. Pay My Loan is part of a broader effort by USDA’s Farm Service Agency to streamline its processes, especially for producers who may have limited time during the planting or harvest seasons to visit a local FSA office; modernize and improve customer service; provide additional customer se...
This is a press release from the office of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler reiterating his concerns that the agency’s proposed “climate disclosure rule” could lead to burdensome paperwork and bureaucracy for Montana family farmers and ranchers. Tester, who is running for re-election, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., emphasized in their letter that American farmers feed the world and should not have to waste thei...
WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday two U.S. Department of Agriculture investments designed to support the U.S. specialty crops industry. The launch of the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports — ASCE — initiative will provide $65 million for projects that will help the specialty crop sector increase global exports and expand to new markets. Additionally, USDA announced Tuesday $72.9 million in grant funding available to support the specialty crops industry through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Progr...
Press release SPOKANE, Washington — AgWest Farm Credit has released its quarterly Market Snapshot reports covering the state of major agricultural commodities in its northern region of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. AgWest’s industry experts gather market information from various sources to deliver commodity-specific insights. All Market Snapshots are available at https://AgWestFC.com/industry-insights . AgWest’s 12-month outlook for specific regional agricultural commodities is summarized below: Small Grain...
BOZEMAN — U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development in Montana State Director Kathleen Williams announced investments of nearly $3.2. million in renewable energy and domestic fertilizer projects to help Montanans lower energy bills and make domestically produced fertilizer more accessible to farmers in Big Sky Country. “One way to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses retain more income for their families and communities is by helping them lower their operating costs, in these cases for fertilizer and...
Press release BOZEMAN, Montana, Jan. 12, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program signup. USDA’s Farm Service Agency encourages agricultural producers and landowners in Montana who are interested in conservation opportunities for their land in exchange for yearly rental payments to consider the enrollment options available through Continuous CRP, which also includes the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program — CREP — offered by FSA partner...
Press release HELENA — The Montana Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for over $3 million in federal funding available through the Specialty Crop Block Grant program. The purpose of the SCBG program is to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in Montana. Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, peas, lentils, dried fruits, as well as horticulture, nursery crops, and floriculture. State and/or local organizations, government entities, producer associations, academia, community-based o...
Press release BOZEMAN — Although winter weather and some snow has come back to Montana, it is late in the season as far as snowpack is concerned. “Warm temperatures and lack of precipitation over the last couple months have resulted in a bleak start to the seasonal snowpack in Montana and northern Wyoming river basins,” said Eric Larson, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service water supply specialist. Water year 2024 began with a mid-October snowstorm that brought about two to five inches of precipitation to part of no...
Press release WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is hosting more than a dozen in-person and virtual workshops this winter for producers to learn about new and expanded livestock risk management products. The “Livestock Roadshow,” hosted by USDA’s Risk Management Agency, will highlight policy improvements based on feedback from America’s livestock producers as part of the agency’s broader outreach and education efforts. “Listening to farmers and ranchers, learning about their needs, and using feedback to m...
From https://www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offices/Montana USDA in Montana reminds agricultural producers of important Farm Service Agency program dates. People can contact their local service center to apply and with any questions and visit online at https://farmers.gov and https://fsa.usda.gov/mt . Jan. 13, 2024: Inflation Reduction Act Assistance for Producers Who Experienced Discrimination in USDA Farm Loan Programs application period closes. Applications are due Jan. 13, 2024. To ensure timely processing, there will be no...
Press Release WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminded farmers, ranchers and forest landowners Monday that Jan. 13, 2024, is the deadline to apply for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, or DFAP. The program is made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided $2.2 billion in funding. Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by USDA in its farm loan programs prior to Jan. 1, 2021, and/or are currently debtors with assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt t...
From Montana Farmers Union Aggregated Ag data being harvested from producers should be publicly available to avoid market manipulation, Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer told members of the Montana Legislature’s Interim Committee on Economic Affairs this week in Helena. The committee has been tasked with how ag data is collected and used after legislation was introduced during the 2023 Legislative Session. Protecting producers’ data is a priority issue for Montana Farmers Union. Montana should have a plan in...
