Author: Site Owner

There’s certainly a lot of talk about trade this month at USDA.  As the U.S. looks to expand connections with Asian nations, American ranchers, growers, and producers are also keeping an eye on potential economic dealings in the Caribbean.

I’m joining the discussion to shed light on how the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) plays a role in facilitating American grain sales into foreign markets and assuring those markets are maintained through its world-class service of weighing and inspection.  First let me set the stage about recent events.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is coming up for a vote in Congress, and recently the International Trade Commission released a report forecasting that TPP will boost U.S. agricultural output by some $10 billion each year by 2032.  In his final State of the Union speech in January the President noted that TPP will cut 18,000 taxes on American-made products and add jobs. The President also emphasized that it’s time to solidify our relationship with former adversaries and boost economic ties.

GIPSA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) plays a role in these expanded markets by helping move our nation’s harvest into the marketplace through impartial inspection and weighing services of American grains, oilseeds, pulses and legumes.  Farmers, handlers, processors, exporters, and international buyers continue to benefit from FGIS procedures and certifications that for more than 40 years have stood as a gold standard representing the quality of U.S. export grain.

Closer to our shores, Cuba is becoming a buzzword since reestablishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries and President Obama’s historic trip in March. Staff from the FGIS Office of International Affairs participated in a similar notable event on April 18, briefing a delegation from Cuba’s ministry of agriculture during their visit to Washington.

FGIS staff explained that as a regulatory agency, GIPSA facilitates shipments of rice, grain, and other commodities now scarce in Cuba, by providing accurate and consistent services for export trade. Since 1976 FGIS established a standard for quality assessments, regulating handling practices, and managing a network of federal, state, and private laboratories to provide impartial third-party inspection and weighing services.

Earlier this month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack returned to his home state and hosted Cuba’s minister of agriculture on a showcase tour of Iowa—the nation’s top producer of corn, soy, eggs, and hogs.  The secretary was exploring market options for America’s farmers and ranchers, large and small. “I happen to think the future of American agriculture, and Cuban agriculture, is incredibly bright,” he said. The secretary also called for increased cooperation between U.S. and Cuban farmers.

Whether in English or Spanish, farmers speak about trade in a language that is universally understood. The Cubans naturally welcome a potential U.S. market for their organic mangoes, avocados, pineapples and papayas as much as American producers and ranchers are ready to sell their soybeans, rice, poultry and hogs to a country where food shortages are not uncommon. “The key here is making sure that we have legal and regulatory systems and market options so that big and small can be supported and enhanced,” said Secretary Vilsack during his visit with the Cuban minister last week.

As opportunities for new markets expand, GIPSA continues its role in expediting trade so that America’s farmers remain competitive in a global economy.  Initiatives like TPP and improved relations with nations like Cuba, and along the Pacific Rim, set the right course to sustain our rural economies and enable more families to stay on the farm.

To learn more about how FGIS helps facilitate international grain sales please visit the new GIPSA website and view our Harbor to Harvest video.

Without pollinators, we don’t eat—it’s simple as that—and, at the moment, large numbers of pollinators are dying.  With the world’s population projected to exceed 9 billion in just the next 30 years or so, that is not a good position for us to be in.

More than 90 species of U.S. specialty crops require pollination, and various animals, including bees, butterflies, moths, bats, and birds are a critical part of the pollinator-plant ecosystem.  Despite the myriad species of pollinators available, American farmers rely on one species of honey bee, Apis mellifera, for most of the pollinator services to pollinate their crops. Wild and managed bees together add $15 billion in crop value each year.

During the past 30-plus years, our nation’s pollinator populations have suffered serious losses due to invasive pests and diseases, such as mites and viral and fungal pathogens, exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, loss of habitat, loss of species and genetic diversity, and changing climate. Numerous species of butterflies, moths, and native bees are either extremely rare or are extinct.  A recent report states that 44 percent of managed honey bee colonies were lost in 2015-2016, largely due to infectious diseases carried by varroa mite larvae.

Recognizing the importance of honey bees and other pollinators to agriculture and the health of natural systems, President Barack Obama established the Pollinator Task Force to develop a national strategy to protect and promote health of pollinators.  The task force, co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, released the Pollinator Research Action Plan in May 2015.  This comprehensive plan guides the federal agenda, including research, to restore and increase pollinator habitat and populations.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is making major investments to protect and promote pollinator health and protect U.S. agriculture.  Between 2008 and 2014, NIFA invested approximately $40 million in competitive and capacity grants devoted to research, extension, and educational programming on bee health.  Just this past month of May, NIFA announced a new, stand-alone $6 million funding opportunity through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Food Security Challenge Area to address some of the priorities of the Pollinator Research Action Plan.  In fiscal year 2017, NIFA plans to dedicate $10 million in funding for pollinator health research.

The following are a few, recent accomplishments resulting from NIFA funding provided to university, government, and private partners.

1. The Bee Informed Partnership (BIP), an extension-led consortium of bee researchers and extension specialists, is working closely with beekeepers and queen breeders to demonstrate monitoring techniques for disease and mite management. The partnership is also working with queen breeders to use regionally appropriate practices for selecting mite and disease resistance traits.  Recent findings show that beekeepers who follow BIP guidelines to manage varroa mites have a 20.4 percent annual colony loss rate, which is a remarkable improvement.
2. Washington State University (WSU) researchers successfully recovered germplasm from a unique honey bee strain from Kazakhstan to enhance the high quality genetic traits in honey bee stock.  The WSU Honey Bee Germplasm Repository will use cryopreservation (deep freeze) methods for long-term storage of bees to be used for breeding improved honey bee strains and for distribution to major honey bee queen producers in the United States.
3. American foulbrood (AFB) is a prevalent and serious bacterial disease that affects honeybees. University of Nevada-Las Vegas researchers used NIFA funding to identify a virus that attacks AFB. Experimental trials to treat AFB infections have significantly reduced AFB levels and increased overall honey bee colony health.
4. NIFA awarded $9 million to a team led by Michigan State University to study the performance economics and farmer perceptions of different pollination strategies.  Most recently, investigators provided the first-ever quantitative assessment of the status and trends of wild bees the United States.  Estimates showed that wild bees declined 23 percent across the United States between 2008 and 2013.  The declines appear to be a result of conversion of natural habitats to row crops, such as corn and soybeans, in the Midwest.
5. NIFA-funding helped develop and distribute Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)-based K-8 lesson plans—“Local Heroes: Your Hardworking Pollinators”—to 3,000 formal and non-formal educators.
6. More than 100 land-grant colleges and universities receive national program leadership and funding support from NIFA to create extension education programs for their communities.  One example is the integrated pest management program at Lincoln University that helps farmers minimize pesticide use.

NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges.

Every year in the U.S. roughly 200 people are killed in as many as 2 million wildlife-vehicle collisions and at a cost of more than $8 billion, according to the Western Transportation Institute.

But the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station scientists, along with their collaborators in the Highway 89 Stewardship Team, are paving the way to reduce those statistics with their latest project. The team broke ground last May on its second and third wildlife underpasses along a 25-mile stretch of Highway 89 between Truckee and Sierraville, California.

“Studies have shown that well-placed wildlife crossings, coupled with fencing, can reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by as much as 75 to 100 percent,” said Sandra Jacobson, a wildlife biologist with Pacific Southwest Research Station.

While wildlife crossings exist across the country, the Highway 89 crossings will be unique in their value to science. Built to near identical dimensions and only located a mile apart from each other, the underpasses will allow scientists to manipulate conditions to learn what might make an underpass more appealing to wildlife.

For instance there might be things that cancel out noise or add cover within the tunnels that might promote use among smaller animals. The tunnels are adjacent to the University of California, Berkeley’s Sagehen Creek Field Station in the Sagehen Experimental Forest, which will give scientists access to the forest’s research facilities and monitoring equipment.

The $2.8 million project was funded largely in part by a Federal Highways Transportation Enhancement grant. The underpasses should be completed and operational by the fall.

The United States has free trade agreements (FTAs) with 20 countries around the world and those agreements have expanded export opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural producers. The pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, between the United States and 11 other nations, will provide even greater opportunities for exporters by reducing or eliminating tariffs on a host of food and farm products.

How can exporters learn more about those tariff reductions and the opportunities they create? Through the Foreign Agricultural Service’s online Agricultural Tariff Tracker.  FAS initially developed the tracker in response to requests from those in the agricultural export community who wanted to obtain more detailed information about export opportunities resulting from FTAs. The tracker has already proven to be a valuable tool, but it just got even better – because now it includes TPP data.

Once the TPP agreement enters into force, exporters will benefit from a combination of tariff eliminations, tariff reductions and new tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), all of which can be tracked with the FAS online tool. As with other FTAs, the benefits of the TPP will increase over time, as tariff reductions are phased in. That means new opportunities for exporters. By providing tariff information in a user-friendly format, FAS hopes it can help exporters maximize those opportunities.

The online tool allows agricultural exporters and importers to search for product tariffs, TRQs and information on safeguards, which countries use to protect against import surges. The tracker also allows users to download and save search results to conduct further analysis.

The Agricultural Tariff Tracker will also help exporters identify new opportunities. The system simplifies the search for product tariffs so that exporters can make more informed decisions about the opportunities each FTA may have for their companies.

You can access the Agricultural Tariff Tracker directly at http://apps.fas.usda.gov/agtarifftracker.  And you can learn more about trade agreements and how they benefit U.S. agricultural exporters, visit www.fas.usda.gov/topics/trade-agreements.

The Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) sponsored a field day on June 2 to talk about growing vegetables in a changing climate.  The discussion focused on climate change, its impacts on the farming system, and strategies to effectively adapt through increasing biodiversity on the farm.

PASA’s Director of Educational Programs, Franklin Egan, provided an overview of climate change trends and projections.  Dave King and others who farm 160 acres of vegetables and small fruit all sold within 25 miles of the farm, talked about their challenges and sustainable farming practices.  Among them, high tunnel beds have more aphids and pill bugs in the winter, downy mildew appears earlier in the summer, weeds are not any easier to manage especially without degrading soil health,  irrigation costs are rising, and deer pressure rises during droughts.  Practices being continuously adapted to respond to changing conditions include a highly diversified crop production system, use of beneficial insects, crop rotations, cover cropping, and rye straw mulch.

Several guest speakers contributed their expertise to the program, including John R. Taylor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sustainable Agroecology at Chatham University, Lee Stivers, Penn State Extension Educator in Horticulture and Heather Manzo, Penn State Extension Educator in Ag Entrepreneurship & Community Economic Development.  Taylor used an ecological framework to present how different practices increase biodiversity within the larger landscape.  Building off of this, Stivers provided an overview of soil health and the win-win role cover crops, crop rotation and crop diversification play in both improving soil quality and removing carbon from the air.  Finally the day concluded with a presentation by Manzo on the many resources available from USDA agencies to protect the fiscal sustainability of the farm including crop insurance, NRCS conservation programs, FSA loan programs and many more.

Knowledge exchanged between scientists, educators and farmers facing the reality of climate change is essential to developing practical climate adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation solutions.  PASA’s proactive effort brings resources together to confront the challenges of climate change and keeps its members profitable at producing healthy food while respecting the natural environment.  Funding for the Field Day, webinars, a pre-conference track at the recent 25th annual Farming for the Future conference, and a four part series of articles in the association’s newsletter Passages was supported by an EPA Environmental Justice grant (#96335501) for educational programs related to climate change and agriculture, and by the USDA Northeast Climate Hub.

Since it’s National Pollinator Week, it seemed fitting to express my thanks to farmers Scott and Susan Hill – who run the Hill Farm outside Charlottesville, VA.  Earlier, I had the chance to visit their 10-acre property former tobacco farm to see firsthand how hard they are working to grow a variety of produce for the local customers. But there are more little workers helping on the Hill Farm too. Pollinators!

In the United States, about one third of all agricultural output depends on pollinators. Insects and other animal pollinators are vital to the production of healthy crops for food, fibers, edible oils, medicines, and other products. It’s clear that pollinators are important to the Hill Farm for their production of their artisan and specialty varieties of several vegetables, including lettuce, asparagus, tomatoes and even golden beets.  And the first year, the addition of bees increased their tomato production by 25 percent.

The commodities produced with the help of pollinators generate significant income for agricultural producers and those who benefit from a productive agricultural community. An estimated $15 billion worth of crops, including more than 90 fruits and vegetables are pollinated by honey bees alone. Pollinators are also essential components of the habitats and ecosystems that many wild animals rely on for food and shelter.

You may have heard that in recent years pollinators have experienced in serious decline in their population. Helping pollinators is critical to healthy food systems and native ecosystems since virtually all of the world’s seed plants need to be pollinated. Here at USDA, we are working to promote pollinator health as part of White House Pollinator Health Task Force’s National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.

One particular project involves USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Bee Research Laboratory, which is focused on improving honey bee survival. ARS conducts research on bees and provides science-based beekeeping and management strategies to help bee keepers across the country build and maintain healthy honey bee populations. ARS is also organizing a national bee gene bank that will help preserve the genetic diversity of honey bees, especially for traits such as resistance to pests or diseases and pollination efficiency.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service recently issued the first Honey Bee Colonies Report that provides information about honey bee losses. The report is an important tool to better understand honey bee population dynamics. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture set a priority for pollinator health for their grant program that provides funding that address key problems in sustaining all components of food and agriculture.

ARS along with the Farm Service Agency and the National Resource Conservation Service are working with U.S. Geological Survey to monitor honeybee colonies in four states to evaluate the effectiveness conservation programs to enhance pollinator forage habitat and hive health.

This work by USDA is increasing our understanding of pollinators, their needs, and the threats to their health. In fact, Secretary Tom Vilsack signed a National Pollinator Week proclamation stating “pollinators such as honey bees, native bees, birds, bats, and butterflies contribute substantially to the economy of the United States and are vital to keeping fruits, nuts, and vegetables in our diets.”

USDA will be celebrating National Pollinator Week in the People’s Garden and USDA’s Farmers Market, managed USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.  Join us on Friday, June 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., to learn about bees, birds, bats and other pollinating animals at the sixth annual Pollinator Festival outside USDA Headquarters along 12th Street in Washington, DC. More than 14 USDA agencies, other federal departments and partners will celebrate the significance of pollinators.

By Megan Feeney, Policy Intern

Growing up in Ahwatukee, Ariz., opportunities to experience elements of forestry or urban greenspace were limited to the rushed car trips up the West Coast for swim meets and crashing my bike into a patch of prickly pear cacti at age seven. It wasn’t until entering my first year of college in Western Pennsylvania that I was finally introduced to the intricate nature of forestry and the abundance of wildlife that accompanies it. The various hiking trails surrounding Allegheny College have proven to be a valued asset within the local community, for both the environmental expert and a novice such as myself. The reservation of these spaces for environmental research, restoration efforts and public recreation truly promote the value of these woodland regions.

My appreciation for forestry was again solidified through a recent academic experience in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, where I resided in the Amazon Basin to study the biodiversity associated with the region’s rainforest. While the weather was extremely humid and the mosquito nets appeared to be defective, I have never felt a stronger connection to the natural environment. The opportunity to experience the changing environmental landscape, along with observing the exceptional beauty of creatures, such as the blue-headed parrot and the black caiman, was well worth any temporary discomfort. Our guides also expressed a respect for the forests, treating specific trees as sacred components of local cosmology. The Peruvian appreciation for the Pachamama, Mother Earth, also added an interesting sense of spirituality and cultural understanding to the greater question of environmental conservation.

Throughout my studies within the field of Political Science, I have noticed that the environment tends to take a back seat within the public discourse surrounding both federal and state policy. Aspects of development and the possibility for economic opportunity tend to dominate the conversation, while environmental consideration is pushed aside. As a student of policy, this seemingly blasé attitude towards elements of climate change, carbon emissions and the destructions of forests is deeply troubling. Although wildlands play a vital role in the daily life of citizens, there appears to be a societal disconnect between the incentives of private enterprise and the need for preservation.

Luckily for the nation’s forests, as well as our global community, American Forests is providing a much needed voice to the political conversation. The founding of this organization in 1875 was well ahead of its time, attempting to address the environmental concerns of the steadily expanding nation. Today, American Forests strives to promote action, as well as education, in support of environmental conservation through policy discussions, advocacy and community programs.

I am happy to say that I have found my summer home with American Forests. Assisting with substantive work that promotes a worthy goal or cause is the dream of any college intern. While I may not have reached this point through the conventional path of growing up with a forest in my backyard, my experiences of the past few years will serve as a strong base to motivate my learning process. It is an honor to work for such an established environmental organization that is striving to make a true impact within public policy and local communities.

Raising children to be their very best is not a concept unique to any particular country; rather, teaching youth to make better choices and create positive change in their communities is a common theme.

4-H is an American program that provides positive youth development by promoting citizenship, healthy living, science, civic affairs, leadership, positive relationships, safe areas for risk-taking, and more. In 2015, nearly 6.5 million adult volunteers and youth sported the green four-leaf clover as they prepared for college, work, career, and life. As iconic as it is, 4-H is not just an American phenomenon, its principles have become deeply entrenched abroad, as well.

Led by 4-H National Headquarters, within USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), 4-H is drawing upon its deep experience to help other nations create similar youth development programs.  Worldwide, more than 7 million youth in at least 80 countries are involved in youth development programming, from South America’s Bolivia; to Africa’s Nigeria and Namibia; to the Nordic nations of Finland, Sweden, and Norway; and, in 2014, to the mountainous Asian nation of Nepal.

NIFA has administered 4-H for more than a century in close collaboration with the Cooperative Extension Systems of the nation’s land-grant universities (LGUs). The U.S. 4-H program — its name, emblem, and brand — has been an important training ground for many American leaders over the years, including presidents and vice presidents (Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, and Al Gore), first ladies (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Rosalynn Carter), entertainers (Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Johnny Carson), and countless athletes and entrepreneurs.

Youth development can take any number of paths to appear abroad, including LGUs that mentor other countries as they develop their own programs modelled after 4-H. NIFA also routinely provides youth development expertise to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, the U.S. Department of State, and USAID as they conduct work in other countries.

In addition, States’ 4-H International Exchange Programs, a non-profit organization headquartered in Seattle, Washington, sponsors international exchange programs for cultural immersion and exchange programs. These exchanges create opportunities for 4-H’ers to gain global experience in leadership, service, and project work. Since 1972, nearly 50,000 youth and their families from 24 countries on six continents have participated.

NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges.

In honor of National Pollinator Week, the U.S. Forest Service joins organizations and individuals across the world to celebrate pollinators and share ways to help them survive and thrive.

Pollinators are vital to healthy ecosystems. Eighty percent of flowering plants require pollination by animals to successfully reproduce and produce seeds and fruits. Plants and pollinators together provide the basis for life by converting sunlight into food, materials for shelter, clean air, clean water, medicines, and other necessities of life.

Across the country, management of pollinators on national forests, grasslands and prairie is an important aspect of the Forest Service’s botany program. And, in the Great Lakes states, there is a unique opportunity to help pollinators while contributing to the overall health of the great lakes.

Located within the Great Lakes Basin, the Huron-Manistee National Forest’s Baldwin/White Cloud Ranger District provides important habitat for the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly. The butterfly depends on a rare natural community called savanna—open areas with scattered trees and abundant wildflowers. Savannas have declined to less than 1 percent of their former extent due to extensive reforestation, fire control efforts, human development, and the process of natural selection. To address this, the BWC Ranger District has been actively working to restore the area’s oak savanna habitat since 1992.

These savannas include upland and lowland areas, and are close to water bodies. Land managers use a number of treatment methods to reduce tree density and encroachment of trees and shrubs in order to promote growth of native grasses and nectar plants, especially wild lupine, the sole food source for the Karner Blue Butterfly when it is a caterpillar.

A dramatic increase in the BWC’s restoration efforts was made possible by Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding. In 2015, the Forest Service managed 1,310 acres of savanna, a significant increase from its initial target of 400 acres per year.

And, it’s important to point out that none of this would be possible without the help of a small army of volunteers. Volunteers conduct surveys, restore habitat by seeding and planting native nectar species, and collect native nectar seed to be used for future restoration work.

The work is paying off.

Annual monitoring has found that Karner Blue Butterfly has occupied 14 areas of the BWC’s savanna areas through natural dispersion. They also found that other wildlife species in the area are increasing, including the red headed woodpecker, prairie warbler, frosted elfin, monarch butterflies and many more.

It takes more than just a bountiful harvest to succeed in today’s agricultural marketplace.  Many farmers find strength in numbers by pooling resources and expertise to grow and sustain their businesses in both the U.S. and international markets. For soybean farmers, the United Soybean Board (USB) works to maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean products.

Working through the U.S. Soybean Export Council, the USB annually conducts about 140 projects in international markets to promote U.S. soy products.  Comprising 70 soybean farmers, the USB facilitates trade servicing and technical support programs with importers, processors, livestock producers, and aquaculture operations.  Another important component of the soybean marketing effort is to invite international buyers, processors, and other users of U.S. soy products to the United States to understand and see firsthand the U.S. soybean production, processing, distribution and transportation systems.

In the most recent marketing year (2014 – 2015), about 59 percent of total U.S. soybean production was exported to international markets – that’s a total of more than 2.3 billion bushels with an astounding value of more than $24 billion.  The products included whole soybeans, soybean meal (primarily used for livestock and poultry feed), and edible soybean oil.  And, it’s not just soybeans that are seeing great export results.  The past seven years have represented the strongest period in history for American agricultural exports, with international sales of U.S. farm and food products totaling $911.4 billion between fiscal years 2009 and 2015.

Major importing countries of U.S. soybean products were China, which alone imported over 1.08 billion bushels of soybeans; Mexico; Japan; Canada; the Philippines; Dominican Republic; and Peru.

The USB is one of more than 20 Research and Promotion programs overseen by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).  All of these programs are requested, funded, and driven by the industry they serve, and allow farmers to pool their resources to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets, and conduct important research and promotion activities.  AMS provides oversight, also paid for by the industry, which ensures fiscal accountability and program integrity for participating stakeholders.

AMS administers a wide range of programs and services that create domestic and international marketing opportunities for U.S. producers of food, fiber, and specialty crops – including soybean farmers.  In addition to overseeing the USB, AMS provides critical market data that supports the marketing of soybeans and soy products through USDA Market News.

Thanks to consistent quality and the hard work and dedication of soybean farmers, with support from AMS and the USB, the U.S. soy industry continues to reach new heights in producing soybean products to help feed the world.