Agri-Pulse staff

More than 90 national and regional advocacy organizations, including the American Farmland Trust and the United Fresh Produce Association, sent a letter to Congress urging the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to strengthen and protect nutrition programs in the 2012 Farm Bill.

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) issued its preliminary recommendations in response to the estimated $1.6 billion in customer-segregated funds allegedly misplaced in the days before the Oct. 31 bankruptcy of MF Global Inc.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking grant applicants for the 2012 Farmers Market Promotion Program.

Partnerships Help Increase Availability and Use of Soy Biodiesel to Diesel Users.

Trade officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico reflected on the increase in trade from 1993 to 2011, when trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries more than tripled, from $288 billion to $1 trillion.

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) is urging the Senate Agriculture Committee to implement fundamental reforms to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as it begins drafting the 2012 farm bill this month.

American egg farmers are expected to donate nearly 10 million protein-rich eggs to Feeding America food banks in 40 states this spring. That brings the number of eggs farmers have contributed since 2008 to 60 million.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that international food assistance in fiscal year 2012 will benefit more than 9.7 million people worldwide

. The purpose of the trip, sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), was to strengthen relationships with key customers of U.S. soybeans and cultivate new market opportunities for U.S. and Iowa farmers.

Grain Stocks and Prospective Plantings reports released from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported corn and soybean stocks as of March 1 within the expected range this morning. Corn planted acreage is higher than the already record-high estimates expected from the survey