USDA Announces March 24 Lending Rates for Agricultural Producers

Clint Thompson USDA

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for March 2024, which became effective March 1, 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.     “I encourage our lenders and borrowers alike to work with …

USDA Expands Insurance Option for Nursery Growers to All States

Clint Thompson USDA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding crop insurance tailored for nursery producers to all counties in all states. Nursery Value Select (NVS) is a pilot program that enables nursery growers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs. Its expansion is part of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) efforts to …

USDA Announces Progress on Newly Authorized Climate Programs

Clint Thompson USDA

WASHINGTON – The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the report this week, Intent to Establish the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program (PDF, 248 KB), authorized under the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA). The GCSA was signed into law on December 29, 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. This report justifying the …

USDA NASS: Findings for Vegetable Production

Clint Thompson USDA

Production for 26 estimated vegetable and melon crops totaled 758 million cwt in 2023, an increase of 6% from 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The three largest crops were tomatoes, onions and sweet corn. They combined for 54% of all the vegetables total. The value of utilized production for vegetable crops in …

Vilsack Statement on Farm Income Forecast

Clint Thompson USDA

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service released its annual Farm Sector Income Forecast report for 2024 last week. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued the following statement following the release: “After the three highest consecutive years on record in 2021-2023, the first farm income forecast of 2024 indicates net farm income this year will return to …

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Farm Sector Profits Forecast to Fall in 2024

Clint Thompson USDA

Net farm income is expected to decrease by $39.8 billion in 2024, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS) report titled: Farm Sector Income & Finances: Highlights from the Farm Income Forecast. Net farm income is projected to be $116.1 billion in calendar year 2024, a 25.5% drop compared to 2023 in nominal (not adjusted for inflation) …

USDA to Issue $306 Million in Final Payments to Farmers Impacted by ’20, ’21 Natural Disasters

Clint Thompson USDA

WASHINGTON – The U. S Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing final Emergency Relief Program (ERP) 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 (FSA) started sending these additional payments to eligible producers last week. “In the natural disaster recovery process, every little …

USDA Announces February 2024 Lending Rates for Agricultural Producers

Clint Thompson USDA

 WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for February 2024, which became effective Feb. 1, 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.   “I encourage our lenders and borrowers alike to work with our local offices …

Pesticide Data Program

USDA Releases 2022 Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary

Dan Cooper Pest Management, USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the 2022 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary, which shows that over 99% of the samples tested had pesticide residues below benchmark levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The tests were conducted on 10,665 samples from 23 commodities including fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, dairy, nuts and grains.   The PDP …

Investments to Strengthen Specialty Crops Sector

Clint Thompson USDA

WASHINGTON – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) investments on Monday 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, the USDA announced $72.9 …