Articles by Agri-Pulse staff

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2012- First Lady Michelle Obama will be joined by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va. on Jan. 25 to speak with parents about USDA’s new nutrition standards for school lunches.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2012 –Farmers and ranchers affected by the collapse of MF Global need to file their claim forms by the deadline of January 31 in order to be eligible to recover lost money.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2012- U.S. beef cattle imports in 2011 finished strong with 2.075 million head, according to a report from USDA’s Economic Research Service, “Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook.”

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to complete a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Funding is available from USDA's Rural

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2012- The number of obese adults and children in the United States remained steady over the past few years. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of youth were obese in 2009-2010, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

A grocer who defrauded the USDA food stamp program was sentenced this week and ordered to repay almost $2.5 million he obtained illegally by swapping electronic benefit cards for cash.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2012- The Obama Administration rejected the permit to begin construction on the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline today, which would cost approximately $7 billion and carry oil from Canada through six states to the Gulf Coast.

The USDA will provide $308 million for financial and technical assistance to help rebuild and repair land damaged on account of flooding, drought, tornadoes and other natural disasters in 33 states and Puerto Rico, the agency announced today.

ROME, Jan. 17, 2012 - FAO and the European Commission announced a new $5.3 million project aimed at helping Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia transition to a "climate-smart" approach to agriculture.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2012 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today provided investment information from the USDA Rural Development fiscal year (FY) 2011 annual report.