Athian’s livestock carbon credit marketplace completes latest round of funding thanks to the investment by California Dairies, Inc. and DSM Venturing Athian (athian.ai) announces the completion of their seed funding round with investments from two strategic partners: DSM Venturing, the corporate venture arm of Royal DSM, a global, purpose-led company in Health, Nutrition & Bioscience, and California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), …
USDA Announces Value Added Producer Grants
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Thursday announced the awarding of $9.6 million across the country and taking several other steps to help farmers, ranchers, processors and rural businesses diversify the nation’s meat supply. The Department is awarding 23 Value Added Producer Grant program grants totaling $3.9 million to help producer-owned companies process and market new products. USDA is also providing guarantees …
Preliminary Hurricane Losses to Agriculture in Florida
According to preliminary assessments by the University of Florida, the combination of seasonal crops, livestock, nursery and aquaculture products potentially lost as a result of Hurricane Ian will likely range between $787 million and $1.56 billion. Despite heavy flooding prohibiting full assessments of some fields, the researchers collected some visual assessments that indicate what those larger impacts may be. Among …
Senate Ag Committee Passes Cattle Market Bills
The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced two bills on Wednesday with bipartisan support – the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act and the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act. Both bills were strongly supported by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). During his weekly call with agricultural reporters Tuesday, Grassley said he thinks the bills have a good chance of making it to the …
Lower Food and Fuel Cost Act Passes House
The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday passed the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act, a diverse package of initiatives from meat packing plants to year round E15, despite opposition by the majority of Republicans. The final vote was 221-204, with seven Republicans siding with the majority and five Democrats voting against the bill. The act includes a package of ag-related …
USDA Announces Meat Supply Chain Actions
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack used an appearance before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday to make a few announcements, including issuing a new Packers & Stockyards Act rulemaking, making available $200 Million to expand competition in meat processing, and investing $25 million in workforce training. Vilsack said the actions build on President Biden’s whole-of-government effort to promote competition in …
NCBA President Testifies on Cattle Market Policies
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association NCBA President Don Schiefelbein of Minnesota testified before a House Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday on cattle market policy issues. Listen to Schiefelbein’s opening remarks here: (5:16) Wednesday’s hearing included a panel consisting of the CEOs of the four major meat packing companies – Cargill, Tyson, National Beef and JBS. The hearing was based on allegations that …
NCBA Opposes Mandate on Cattle Sales
Two bills designed to address transparency and oversight within cattle marketing were the subject of a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Tuesday where the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association expressed opposition to a “government mandate on cattle sales.” The hearing was specifically on the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act sponsored by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and …
House Ag Committee Hearing on State of the Livestock Industry
The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing Thursday to address the current state of the livestock industry, meat processing, production and supply. Among the witnesses testifying were Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota, and François Léger of FPL Food, on behalf of the North American Meat …
2021 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Tradeshow
The 2021 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show is tuning in to Tennessee August 10-12 in Nashville. #CattleCon21 is THE event for anyone in the cattle business! The Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show is agriculture’s premier event where thousands of cattlemen and women gather for three days of education, fellowship, networking, business, and a whole lot of …
Hearing Focuses on State of Beef Supply Chain
The U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing Wednesday to examine how to address challenges within the beef supply chain during which several members of Congress echoed the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) longstanding call to expand processing capacity. Ranking Member Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) recently introduced the Butcher Block Act, a bipartisan bill that …
Rep. Randy Feenstra is Passionate About Biofuels
Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) is new to Congress this year, winning the seat from Rep. Steve King in Iowa’s 4th congressional district. That district includes includes Sioux City, Ames, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Boone and Carroll so agriculture and biofuels are a big deal for Feenstra. In this interview with Tony St. James of Texas, Rep. Feenstra talks about biofuels …
Senate Hearing Examines Cattle Markets
The Senate Committee on Agriculture held a hearing Wednesday on “Examining Markets, Transparency, and Prices from Cattle Producer to Consumer” to address a wide range of issues, including the urgent need for robust price discovery and differing industry views on how to achieve it, greater market transparency and oversight, and expanded beef processing capacity. Among the witnesses was Mark Gardiner, …
Sen. Thune on Aid for Agriculture and Biofuels in COVID Relief Bill
The new COVID relief package passed by Congress this week includes help for agricultural and biofuels producers excluded from previous aid legislation. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) says relief includes the Paycheck Protection Program for Producers Act, assistance for livestock and poultry producers who were forced to euthanize animals during the initial wave of the pandemic, and biofuels producers are now …
Conservation Goals Unite Livestock and Sporting Groups
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Monday with Ducks Unlimited (DU) and Safari Club International (SCI) with a commitment to conservation of natural resources through sustainable multiple use. The MOU outlines these groups’ efforts to cultivate healthier ecosystems, wildlife populations, and economies through active management. Hunting, fishing, and …