Tag Archives: USDA

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Washington counties of Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla, and Whitman suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional. This natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced a call for nominations to the Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, which advises the Secretary of Agriculture to enhance USDA’s goals for new farming and ranching operations. Members of the public are invited to submit nominations for themselves or other qualified experts by Oct. 10, 2023. Nomination packages should include ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages all farmers, ranchers, and FSA program participants to take part in the Garfield and Asotin County Committee election nomination process. FSA’s county committees are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA and allow grassroots input and local administration of federal farm programs. Committees are comprised of locally ... Read More »

Today, Secretary Tom Vilsack announced how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to implement the $3.7 billion Congress appropriated for disaster aid in calendar year 2022. The Emergency Relief Program (ERP) and Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) will help assist crop and livestock producers who suffered losses due to qualifying natural disasters in 2022. To facilitate the process, the ... Read More »

By Zach Ducheneaux Administrator, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency In January, we announced two new programs designed to assist producers who experienced revenue losses from 2020 and 2021 natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs are revenue-based and feel a little different from our regular programs, but the goal is to better support farmers. Both the Emergency Relief ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced appointees who will serve on the Washington FSA state committee. Members of the FSA state committee are appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and are responsible for the oversight of farm programs and county committee operations, resolving program delivery appeals from the agriculture community, maintaining cooperative relations ... Read More »

The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) joined with other Pacific Northwest agricultural stakeholders in sending a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, outlining concerns over increasing rhetoric at the federal level on breaching the lower Snake River dams and highlighting the importance of the entire Columbia-Snake River System to the U.S. “… We are increasingly concerned that the USG ... Read More »

By Farm News Media It’s time to “think anew,” said Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 104th Annual Convention. He said western droughts, COVID and the war in Ukraine are just a few barriers the American farmer has overcome in recent years to obtain record farm income. Yet, he said there’s reason to pause and think ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) welcomes the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Alexis Taylor to serve as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs. Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Taylor by a voice vote. “NAWG applauds the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Last November, longtime USDA official Marcia Bunger became the first woman to hold the role of administrator at the Agriculture Department’s Risk Management Agency, which manages federal crop insurance. Before becoming RMA administrator, Bunger worked for decades in USDA’s Farm Service Agency. She is also an owner and operator of a 2,000-acre family farm. Dec. 16, ... Read More »