Department of Agriculture

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Feds Demand Magician Submit Rabbit 'Disaster Plan'

USDA backtracks on rule after case publicized

(Newser) - Marty the Magician is no stranger to red tape—the Department of Agriculture has long required him to have a license for the rabbit he uses in his act—but even he was surprised when the government ordered him to pull a rabbit disaster plan out of his hat. Under...

Outlaw Raisin Farmer Defies Uncle Sam



 Outlaw Raisin Farmer 
 Defies Uncle Sam 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 13, 2013 6:50 AM CDT

Outlaw Raisin Farmer Defies Uncle Sam

For 11 years, Marvin Horne has refused to turn over crop to 'raisin reserve'

(Newser) - Get ready to read the weirdest fact you're likely to encounter all month: There exists in our country a national raisin reserve. And a 68-year-old California raisin farmer has spent the last 11 years fighting it. The Washington Post reports the very unusual and very fascinating story of Marvin...

Feds to Beef Up Horse-Meat Testing

USDA says move is response to recent events, consumer concerns

(Newser) - With horse meat having turned up in foods all across Europe , the USDA said yesterday it will step up its "species testing" on meat imports, reports NBC News . In the past, such testing only occurred when there was a reason to doubt the purity of a shipment. Though the...

USDA: Time for 'Sea Change' in Fighting Pests

Officials release list of top 15 threats

(Newser) - Pests are causing billions of dollars of agricultural damage—the Asian citrus psyllid alone has cost Florida growers $4.5 billion—and it's time for a "sea change" in how we deal with them. Today, the USDA is releasing its list of the top 15 pest threats, USA ...

How the USDA Hacked the Sequester

Tom Vilsack got $55M in new money for meat inspectors

(Newser) - There's no way to get out of the sequester's mandatory budget cuts, right? Wrong—at least for the USDA. Just three weeks after the sequester hit, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack found a way around it, snagging $55 million in new money for meat inspectors—just about the same...

Forget Europe: US May OK Horse Meat Plant

It hasn't been processed here in 6 years

(Newser) - What timing: With Europe trying to rein in a horse meat scandal , the US may give the green light to a horse slaughtering plant in New Mexico. The facility, which would produce horse meat that's safe to eat, could get Agriculture Department approval within the next two months, the...

Sorry, USDA Employees: No More Deep-Fried Lunch

Cafeterias will adhere more closely to USDA's dietary guidelines

(Newser) - For years, the USDA has been giving Americans dietary guidelines—and now USDA workers will have to start living by those guidelines, at least during lunchtime. The cafeterias at the Agriculture Department's DC headquarters have gotten a makeover, and the most headline-worthy change is that the deep fryers have...

Lawmakers Agree to Avert Milk Cliff—If They Have Time

But don't worry, slow USDA might make it a moot point

(Newser) - In a desperate bid to avoid the dreaded " milk cliff ," House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders have agreed to just extend the 2008 farm bill for another year—assuming they can get around to doing so. Given the drama surrounding that other cliff, House Republican leaders tell CBS...

Why Milk Could Hit $8 a Gallon
 Why Milk Could Hit $8 a Gallon 
Dec 21, 2012 11:14 AM CST

Why Milk Could Hit $8 a Gallon

Old law could be reinstated if Congress can't reach compromise

(Newser) - If Congress doesn't get its act together soon, old laws will cost all of America dearly—we're speaking, of course, of the Milk Cliff. If legislators don't take a break from fiscal cliff negotiations/posturing and pass a new farm bill by Jan. 1, the government will be...

Half of US Counties Now Disaster Areas

Drought has ravaged much of the nation

(Newser) - The worst drought in decades has officially ravaged more than half the counties in America. The USDA declared 218 counties across a dozen states natural disaster areas yesterday, bringing the total number of counties bearing that distinction to 1,584, the AP reports. The disaster designation makes farmers and ranchers...

Non-Browning Apple Has Growers Seeing Red

Genetically-engineered fruit has some growers fuming

(Newser) - It sounds like magic: an apple that won't turn brown when cut or bruised. But the genetically-engineered fruit's special powers aren't enough to win over other apple growers, who say it's just unnatural. The Arctic Apple, from small Canadian firm Okanagan Specialty Fruits, could hurt consumers'...

Record Corn Harvest Could Sink Food Prices

Agriculture officials predict a bumper crop this year

(Newser) - Consumers could see some relief from higher food prices by late fall, if the latest government crop forecast holds up. The US Agriculture Department predicted today that corn production will total 14.8 billion bushels, with a record yield of 166 bushels per acre. That compares with 12.4 billion...

Mad Cow Disease Shows Up in California

Authorities say food chain is safe

(Newser) - For the first time since 2006, US officials have confirmed a new case of mad cow disease, this time in California. The dairy cow's illness was detected during routine testing at a rendering plant by the USDA. None of the affected cow's meat got into human food, the...

Governors Defend Pink Slime by Eating It

In attempt to combat 'unwarranted food scare'

(Newser) - Pink slime is perfectly safe to eat, but it has a bit of a PR problem, according to federal authorities and a coalition of at least four governors. Department of Agriculture officials say the "slime"—leftover beef trimmings sometimes treated with ammonium hydroxide—is actually a low-cost way...

Agriculture Dept. OKs 'Pink Slime' for Schools

Critics say filler not safe, not real meat, but beef biz fights back

(Newser) - "Pink slime" may be too dubious for McDonald's , but apparently the ammonia-treated beef filler is good enough for America's schoolchildren. The US Department of Agriculture is set to give the go-ahead today, allowing schools to use ground beef containing the so-called pink slime, reports ABC News . "...

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch

Preschooler ends up eating chicken nuggets instead of home-packed meal

(Newser) - A North Carolina preschooler arrived at school with a lunch packed by her mom, but ended up eating just three chicken nuggets from the school cafeteria because a state agent didn't think her packed lunch was nutritious enough. Pre-kindergarten programs are required to serve lunches that meet USDA guidelines—...

Farmers Fret as USDA Shuts Hundreds of Offices

Critics worry move will compromise public safety

(Newser) - The US Department of Agriculture announced plans to close 259 offices, labs, and other facilities yesterday, in a move that will save the agency $150 million per year. But the announcement has some farmers and food safety experts worried, the AP reports. "They wiped out the entire Midwest,"...

Horse Slaughterhouses Could Soon Rise Again

Congress lifts ban on funding horse meat inspections

(Newser) - When Congress passed a spending bill earlier this month to keep the government from shutting down, it quietly lifted a funding ban on horse meat inspections—meaning horses can once again be butchered in the US for human consumption, and slaughterhouses could open within 30 to 90 days. The US...

White House Backs Off Christmas Tree 'Tax'

Whatever term you use, it's not happening

(Newser) - So much for that new Christmas tree tax . After a storm of criticism on the right, the Agriculture Department has temporarily scrapped plans for the 15-cent fee, reports the Hill . Under the original plan, big producers and importers of trees would have paid 15 cents per tree, and the money...

Senate Digs In Over Potatoes in School Lunches

Thwarts Obama's attempts to limit them for childrens' health

(Newser) - The Senate yesterday subtly thwarted an Obama administration proposal to limit the amount of potatoes and other starchy vegetables school children scarf down, inserting an amendment into an Agriculture Department spending bill prohibiting the Department from setting “any maximum limits on the serving of vegetables in school meal programs....

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