A top United States Democratic congresswoman on Thursday asked the Agriculture Department (USDA) to investigate and retract tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts with the U.S. subsidiary of a Brazilian meatpacking company facing federal corruption charges.
The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it had pulled all staff from an annual crop tour after an employee was threatened, and sources said the threat of violence was made during a phone call from an angry farmer.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the discovery of unapproved, genetically modified (GM) wheat plants growing in an un-planted agricultural field in Washington state.
Due to the recent devastating drought, soybean production in Uruguay is forecast to drop to 1.7 million tons in 2017-18, according to an April 30 Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Argentina, the world’s third biggest soy producer, booked its largest purchase of U.S. soybeans in 20 years on Tuesday after drought cut its harvest, forcing crushers there to turn to imports. The surprise move pushed Chicago soybean futures to a one-month high, in the latest development to upend global soy trading after top buyer China last week proposed tariffs on U.S. imports amid an intensifying Washington-Beijing trade dispute.
A worst-in-a-generation drought from stretching across the United States is damaging crops and rural economies and threatening to drive food prices to record levels. Agriculture, though a small part (1.2%) of the 15.5 trillion dollars US economy, had been one of the most resilient industries in the past three years as the country struggled to recover from the recession.
Drought in major soybean producers Brazil and Argentina cut their production more deeply than expected the US government said on Tuesday in a report that drove prices to near their highest since 2008.
The US government announced Tuesday it will begin testing next year for six more kinds of E.coli bacteria in raw ground beef and tenderized steaks in order to boost protection of US consumers.
United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced this week that US producers are now eligible to ship a larger array of US beef and beef products to Chile.
World lemon and orange juice production is set to grow while the crop of tangerines and grapefruits are forecasted to drop according to a citrus trade report from the US Department of Agriculture.