Items Tagged with 'Agricultural Marketing Service'

Nine years ago, lawmakers thought they had settled the issue of GMO labeling. A law passed in the summer of 2016 after months of negotiation shut down state labeling requirements and gave companies a way to keep biotech information off food labels. But a protracted legal battle is forcing USDA to rework key aspects of the labeling regulations. 

Farm groups and other USDA stakeholders are raising concerns about the impact the Trump administration’s reorganization plan will have on agencies and personnel. The planned closure of a major research center in suburban Maryland and the department’s plan to consolidate staff in five regional hubs also are drawing some opposition.

Erin Morris has been appointed to lead the Agricultural Marketing Service after Bruce Summers retires this month.

Dairy producers have approved a series of modifications to federal milk marketing orders, including reversing a change to milk pricing that was made in the 2018 farm bill, USDA announced Thursday.

The industry-funded promotion, research and information program will be open to a vote and if approved, overseen by an 11-member board. 

Commenters on USDA’s latest attempt to promote fair and competitive livestock and poultry markets expressed widely divergent views on the proposal’s legality and provided a preview of the litigation to come if the rule is finalized.

The House Agriculture Committee is pressing USDA for transparency on its decision to consolidate contractors for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservation, a move that has resulted in food shortages in participating tribal communities. 

The Agriculture Department is proposing to scrap a change made by the 2018 farm bill to the way fluid milk is priced under federal milk marketing orders. The proposal is part of a broader plan, which must be approved by producers, to reform the pricing of dairy products.