Agri-Pulse staff

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today introduced USDA's first Farm to School Census for the school year 2011-2012, which indicated that schools participating in farm to school activities purchased and served over $350 million in local food.

In a letter sent to farm bill conferees this morning, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) outlined the reforms to crop insurance and investments in conservation, among other provisions, that it would like to see in a completed farm bill between the House and Senate.

USDA says it will invest $181 million in loan guarantees to develop commercial-scale biorefineries or retrofit existing facilities with appropriate technology to develop advanced biofuels.

FAO estimates that each year, one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, , said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) in Copenhagen.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA) issued a report today to counter an anticipated report this week critical of the agriculture industry from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future.

Life at the USDA is slowly returning to normalcy today after the end to the historic 16-day federal government shutdown.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson sent a letter to the members of Congress recently named farm bill conferees outlining his priorities for a final bill.

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman outlined his priorities for a completed farm bill, specifically emphasizing AFBF’s positions on the nutrition title, means testing and other provisions in a letter to each member selected as a House or Senate conferee.

First Lady Michelle Obama’s garden on the south lawn of the White House “is filled with unharvested vegetables and weeds, and wildlife running amok” because gardeners have been furloughed

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement today regarding reports on the Environmental Protection Agency’s draft proposal to reduce ethanol consumption mandate in the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard.