News you can use
News you can use
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Press release WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting nominations for farmers and ranchers to serve on local USDA Farm Service Agency county committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2024 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2024. “Serving on a Farm Service Agency county committee is your chance to ensure that other producers who share your interests, your production pra...
Press release BOZEMAN — Agricultural producers in Montana should make an appointment with their local Farm Service Agency office to complete crop acreage reports before the applicable deadline after planting is complete. “Many USDA programs require producers to file an accurate crop acreage report by the applicable deadline in order to receive program benefits,” said Maureen Wicks, FSA state executive director in Montana. “Once planting is complete, call your local FSA office to make an appointment to report your acreage...
Press release WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research — FFAR — launched June 11 a global challenge to advance scientific research that will produce major breakthroughs for nutrition security while mitigating climate change impacts and advancing equity for underserved communities. The “Nourishing Next Generation Agrifood Breakthroughs” (Innovation Challenge) funding opportunity will fund transdisciplinary teams led by early-career scientists — those who have receiv...
From the MSU News Service BOZEMAN — With a wetter-than-average May in most of Montana, providing additional mid-season nitrogen to wheat could boost grain protein levels and increase profit, according to a Montana State University Extension specialist. “With the drought conditions last fall and winter, many producers likely fertilized with less nitrogen than normal due to lower than expected yields,” said Clain Jones, MSU Extension soil fertility specialist and professor in the Department of Land Resources and Envir...
Reagan Cotton MSU News Service BOZEMAN - Through new funding from the USDA and the Montana Department of Agriculture, a Montana State University scientist will study the impact of grasshoppers, an increasingly common pest in Montana, on pulse crops and forages. Hayes Goosey, assistant professor in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences in the College of Agriculture and an MSU Extension specialist, received roughly $330,000 through the USDA's Specialty Crop Block Program,...
Reagan Cotton MSU News Service BOZEMAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in 2023, nearly 5.3 million acres of wheat, 1.2 million acres of barley and more than 1 million acres of pulse crops were planted in Montana. At Montana State University’s Central Agricultural Research Center, scientists are aiming to maximize the yield and profit that come from that acreage, with a focus on central Montana. The research center, located just outside Moccasin, is the second-largest of the seven facilities in MSU’s Depar...
Montana Farmers Union The EPA’s recent warning to John Deere that the equipment manufacturing company’s equipment manuals prohibiting the repair of emissions control systems by anyone other than Deere authorized dealers may have violated the law is another victory in Farmers Union’s fight for farmers’ right to repair, Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer said. “The fact that John Deere has acknowledged the EPA requirement also affirms that Farmers Union has been justified in advocating for the farmers ‘right to...
Press release USDA has declared eight Montana counties primary disaster areas and 18 contiguous counties including Chouteauare eligible for assistance. This secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization...
Press release BOZEMAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday that agricultural producers and private landowners can now sign up for the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program. The signup runs from Monday, June 3, through June 28, 2024. Grassland CRP, offered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, is a voluntary working lands conservation program that enables participants to conserve grasslands and provide important conservation benefits for wildlife, soil health and carbon sequestration, all while continuing most gra...
Press release HELENA — The Montana Department of Agriculture is recruiting for open positions on its Noxious Weed Management Advisory Council). The following council terms expire June 30, 2024: • Recreationist / Wildlife Group Representative • Noxious Weed Free Materials Representative • Montana Weed Control Association Representative • Eastern County Weed District Representative • At-Large Member • Herbicide Dealer or Applicator Representative The advisory council is appointed by the Montana Department of Agriculture d...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in partnership with FarmRaise, May 28 launched a new, online Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program Decision Tool. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency tool is designed to assist agricultural producers who have been impacted by natural disasters access available program support. The ELAP Decision Tool, a component of a broader disaster assistance program educational module, further expands the library of online FSA disaster and farm loan pro...
Press release The Montana Wheat and Barley Committee (MWBC) Board will meet Monday, June 24 , 2024, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Pollard Hotel in Red Lodge with the option to join remotely via Zoom. The agenda is tentatively set to review board assignments, financial reports, and address general updates. The public is invited to participate at the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee board meetings. To view an agenda for the meeting and learn more about the committee, people can visit MWBC’s website at https://montanawbc.com . F...
Press release WASHINGTON — American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented Friday, May 24, on the House Agriculture Committee markup and passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act. “AFBF appreciates the leadership of Chairman Thompson and members of the House Agriculture Committee for the markup and bipartisan passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act. The farm bill affects all of America’s families, and we’re encouraged to see the legislation progress in the House,” noted Duvall. T...
Press release CASCO, Wis. — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced May 23 USDA is investing in domestic fertilizer projects to strengthen competition for U.S. farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers. Thw funding advances President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle out and bottom up. It will create jobs and spur economic growth in rural communities by increasing competition in agricultural markets. Through these projects, President Biden...
From the MSU News Service BOZEMAN — The Montana State University College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station will once again host a series of field days this summer at six of the university’s research centers around the state, plus two additional events at campus farms in Bozeman. “We look forward to our field days every year because of the opportunities they create to interact and share research results with agricultural producers and friends around Montana,” said Sreekala Bajwa, director of the Mon...
Press release WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced May 15 new programs, partnerships, grant awards and an additional $10 million in funding to expand the markets for organic products and help producers transition to organic production, including a multi-million dollar grant to Big Sandy Organics in Montana. These programs will support the development of new and better markets for domestic organic products, provide hands-on training to producers transitioning to organic production and ease the financial bur...
Press release Each year, the Montana Stockgrowers Foundation awards scholarships to college students who are seeking a career beneficial to ranching. This year, a total of $10,000 was awarded to three deserving students. To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must be currently enrolled in college and have completed at least one semester in college, be a member, or have at least one parent/guardian who is a member, of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, demonstrate a...
Press release BOZEMAN - Well-above normal precipitation during April was needed given the meager snowpack conditions experienced this year. Total monthly precipitation was above normal last month only in the Powder and Tongue River basins but was not widespread across Montana. "A couple mid-month storms did provide significant snowfall, but April is typically a wet month in Montana, and total precipitation last month did not meet that standard," said Eric Larson, USDA Natural...
Press release WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected 28 organizations to host members of USDA’s Working Lands Climate Corps, an effort that will train the next generation of conservation and climate leaders, providing technical training and career pathway opportunities for young people and helping them deliver climate-smart agriculture solutions for farmers and ranchers. Selections were made in partnership with The Corps Network. WLCC is part of President Joe Biden’s historic American Climate Corps...
Press release BOZEMAN —The Montana Farm Bureau Summer Conference is set for June 10-12 in the historic cow town of Miles City. The summer conference provides an opportunity for the organization’s advisory committees to discuss current agricultural issues and concerns, and surface ideas for policy development. Events take place at the Custer County Events Center and the MCC Ag Advancement Center. “Members from across the state are excited to attend our annual summer committee meetings and foundation fund raiser. It’s been ov...
Press release The National Organic Standards Board was established to assist in developing standards for substances to be used in organic production and to advise the Secretary on the implementation of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. Through this Notice, the Agricultural Marketing Service is requesting nominations to fill the following vacancies: • One individual who owns or operates an organic farming operation or employee of such individual; • Two individuals who own or operate an organic handling operation or...
BOZEMAN — The U.S Department of Agriculture in April unveiled a new, online Livestock Indemnity Program Decision Tool and farm loan resources available to agricultural producers and cooperators who help producers access USDA disaster assistance, farm loans and other federal farm programs. The new LIP tool and the farm loan informational video resources were developed in partnership with FarmRaise and USDA’s Farm Service Agency. These tools are now available at https://www.farmraise.com/usda-fsa. “By providing colla...
Press release WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development will deploy $1 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funding to purchase U.S.-grown commodities to provide emergency food assistance to people in need throughout the world, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced April 18. “America’s farmers are the most productive and efficient in the world, and we rely on them to supply safe and nutritious food not only to our natio...
Press release The USDA Farm Service Agency announced the appointment of Tracey L. Peterson of Fallon and Lola Raska of Great Falls to serve on the Montana FSA state committee. Each FSA state committee is comprised of three to five members including a designated chairperson. Peterson and Raska join three previously appointed Montana FSA State Committee members. The individuals appointed to serve on the FSA State committee for Montana are: • Committee Chair Ryan Lankford — Chinook • Casey Bailey — Fort Benton • Jake Merkel ...
Press release HELENA — Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the Montana Department of Agriculture has announced approximately $1 million in round two funding under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, or RFSI. Through this agreement, USDA and Montana are working together to offer approximately $1 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. MDA is accepting applications for...
