Following a comprehensive certification process, the Blue Diamond Growers facility in Salida, Calif., has earned distinction as being Green Business Certified. Blue Diamond is the first business in Stanislaus County to be recognized by the California Green Business Network, Stanislaus County, a program of the Modesto Chamber of Commerce, for demonstrating sustainability as a top business priority. The Green Business …

How do you build a better dairy cow? Use a tool designed to study the human genome, of course. Working alongside international research partners in the Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative (AG2PI), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are using technology to meet the challenges of the increasing global population and ever-changing environmental stressors. The goal of AG2PI is to better understand how …

Producers under the California Federal Marketing Order (CFMO) are paid according to the quantity of components in their milk (pounds of butterfat, protein, and other solids) and their respective prices along with a proportionate share of the classified value of the monthly pool as accounted for in the Producer Price Differential (PPD). As has been the case in recent months, …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) today announced the 2021 Marketing Assistance Loan rates. Marketing Assistance Loans provide interim financing to producers so that commodities can be stored after harvest when market prices are typically low and sold later when market conditions may be more favorable. The 2018 Farm Bill extended the Marketing Assistance Loan program, making …

Barley is important for more than beer. A UC Riverside geneticist has won $1.7 million to study how one of the world’s staple foods might survive climate change. The National Science Foundation CAREER Award to Daniel Koenig, an assistant professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, will reveal details about genetic adaptations barley has made in the past to enable …

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) urged the Biden Administration to work to eliminate foreign tariffs on and nontariff impediments to U.S. exports, following the release today by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) of the 2021 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. The annual report looks at progress …

CDFA’s Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) provides financial assistance for the implementation of non-digester manure management practices on California dairy and livestock operations, which will result in reduced emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in its potential to warm the atmosphere. Eligible practices for funding through AMMP include: pasture-based management; alternative manure treatment and …

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is establishing new programs and efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiative—USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers—will reach a broader set of producers than in previous COVID-19 aid programs. USDA is dedicating at least $6 billion toward the new …