A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in January issued some criticism of USDA aid provided to farms for losses caused by international trade disruptions in 2018 and 2019. The Market Facilitation Program (MFP) was administered by the Fa
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On Tuesday, February 8th, the USDA issued a press release highlighting record exports of U.S. agricultural products in 2021. According to USDA, U.S. farm and food products to the world totaled $177 billion, topping the 2020 total by 18.2 percent. The grow
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On Monday, February 7th, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans to utilize $1 billion from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to invest in "climate smart" pilot projects that promote farming, ranching and forestry practices that cut greenhouse gas
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On Friday, February 4th, the U.S. House of Representatives approved its version of the America Competes Act (HR 4521), a comprehensive bill aimed at boosting economic competitiveness with China and reducing economic dependence with China. The measure pass
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The Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board (ASPB) and the Arkansas Soybean Association (ASA) recently announced the winners of the 2021 Grow for the Green Soybean Yield Contest. The yield contest was established in 2007 as an effort to encourage on farmers to e
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According to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, farmer sentiment continues to weaken as rising input costs and supply chain disruptions place pressure on farmers and the agriculture industry. While commodity futures market prices
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Arkansas state revenue collections remained strong in the month of January continuing a positive trend for the fiscal year that ends June 30th. For January 2022, the state experienced an 8.3% increase in tax collections from the same month in 2021. The co
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The Arkansas Department of Agriculture (Department) is now accepting applications for the 2022 Arkansas Century Farm program. This program recognizes Arkansas families who have owned and farmed the same land for at least 100 years. Applications must be re
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Winrock International announced on January 31st that it was awarded a $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pursue policies to improve health and wellness of rural workers in certain Delta communities that currently experience h
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The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that it would hear a landmark case (Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency) relating to the Clean Water Act (CWA) and what constitiutes Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) under the act. The hearing and potential for a
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On February 3rd, USDA issued a brief update on its plans to deliver aid to producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021. Phase one of the crop assistance
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On February 1, U.S. Senator John Tester (D-MT) introduced legislation (S. 3549) aimed at helping increase equipment repair access for farmers. Tester, a farmer himself, issued a press statement in which he expressed concerns for consolidation in the repai
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