The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Mexico’s national plant protection organization (SENASICA) announce that the United States has begun exporting potatoes beyond the 26-kilometer border zone that previously marked the limit of their export.  The two countries reached an agreement late last year to expand that market access for U.S. potatoes, something that the …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated three key crop insurance options for livestock producers: the Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP), Livestock Gross Margin (LGM), and Livestock Risk Protection (LRP). USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the insurance options to reach more producers, offer greater flexibility for protecting their operations, and ultimately, better meet the needs of the country’s swine, dairy, …

Agricultural producers and handlers who are certified organic, along with producers and handlers who are transitioning to organic production, can now apply for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP) and Organic Certification Cost Share Program(OCCSP), which help producers and handlers cover the cost of organic certification, along with other related expenses. Applications for OTECP and …

The U. S Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2020 and 2021 will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments totaling approximately $6 billion through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) to offset crop yield and value losses. “For over two years, farmers and ranchers …

Four Fresno State students in the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology were recognized May 5 with area ag scholar awards by 23rd District Assemblyman Jim Patterson at a ceremony at the Vincent E. Petrucci Viticulture Building. Plant science senior Omar Albughanam (of Clovis), agricultural business senior Riley Barney (Chowchilla), agricultural education senior Jocelyne Juarez (Wasco) and plant science …

 Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) announced $470,000 given in awards and equipment to veterans across the country through the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund. It’s the largest amount awarded in program history. The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund provides direct assistance to veterans involved in agriculture by awarding them equipment and small grants in the amount of $1,000 to $5,000 to purchase items they have identified …

California Farmland Trust (CFT) is pleased to welcome Lauren Fox to the CFT team. Lauren will serve as the program associate. Lauren joins the organization as a 2021 University of Nevada, Reno graduate, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in community health sciences. Growing up in Elk Grove, Lauren is no stranger to the Central Valley and California’s …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications from U.S. exporters for an agricultural trade mission to Manila, Philippines, July 18-21, 2022. The mission will provide U.S. growers, producers, and exporters the opportunity to explore a thriving market that is expected to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic with one of the strongest growth forecasts in Asia. The Philippines is …

The Almond Alliance of California today thanked  California’s U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla for joining with a collaborative of major agriculture associations in urging a summit with all stakeholders – ocean shipping carriers and agricultural exporters – to resolve gridlock at the nation’s ports, where billions of dollars of exports are stuck on the docks. “The agriculture community …

The 2022 California Almond Subjective Forecast published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that the crop harvested in 2022 will come in at 2.8 billion pounds, 4 percent below last year’s 2.92 billion pounds. Forecasted yield is 2,040 pounds per acre, 8 percent below the 2021 yield of 2,210 per acre. “A lower …