Taxes + Policy & USDA + Farm Management + Insurance

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of 30 university students who
will attend USDA’s 2013 Agricultural Outlook Forum. The students—who attend land-grant,
Hispanic-serving, and American Association of State Colleges of Agriculture and Renewable
Resources Institutions—have received assistance from USDA and corporate sponsors in order to
attend the Forum. The 2013 Agricultural Outlook Forum will be held Feb. 21- 22, 2013, at the
Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.

Tune in to Rural TV, now on Family Net! You can now watch the Market Day Report 8am-1pm Central and the Rural Evening News at 6:30pm Central 5 days a week, Monday through Friday.

Here is a complete list of Cable and Satellite providers. See your local tv guide for specific channel listings:

Comcast
At&t U-Verse
Verizon
Dish Network
Time Warner Cable
Bright House Network
Mediacom
SuddenLink
Charter
Cox

DESPITE DROUGHT, U.S. GRAINS COUNCIL REPORT INDICATES HIGH QUALITY CORN CROP
Dec. 6, 2012

Source: U.S. Grains Council news release

Calling the farm bill the “farm bill” suggests its impact is limited only to farms and to the rural areas to which they are so closely tied. It’s really a jobs bill. A food bill. A conservation bill. A research bill. An energy bill. A trade bill. In other words, it’s a bill that affects every American. The farm bill affects our nation’s ability to provide the necessities of life for a global population projected to pass 9 billion by 2050. Here at home, it affects an industry that provides 23 million—or 1 in every 12—American jobs.

This is a link for the latest information regarding the USDA's drought response and assistance.

www.usda.gov/drought

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2012 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced a 9.6 percent increase in National Farmers Market Directory listings as the kickoff to National Farmer's Market Week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's directory, a database published online at farmersmarkets.usda.gov, identifies 7,864 farmers markets operating throughout the United States. The information collected in the directory is self-reported data provided voluntarily by farmers market managers through an annual outreach effort. Last year, USDA's directory listed 7,175 markets.

A WHITE HOUSE CONSERVATION CONFERENCE HEARD AGRICULTURE SECRETARY TOM VILSACK ANNOUNCE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRODUCERS TO ENROLL LAND IN THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM, OR C-R-P. THIS INCLUDES ONE MILLION ACRES IN C-R-P INITIATIVES TO PRESERVE GRASSLANDS AND WETLANDS.

Michael Scuse, USDA’s Under Secretary, Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services announced the next targeted enrollment for the CRP program starts on Friday, March 2nd and ends on April 6th at your FSA office. “Your FSA office will help you if you are not sure if your land qualifies or how much will qualify. That is what the FSA office is for, just ask.” Scuse added that there is an ongoing program for “highly erodible land” that is on-going.

The 47th annual National Farm Machinery Show has landed in Louisville, Kentucky.  This year's show is bigger and better than ever, said Corinne Fetter, Director of Expositions for the Kentucky Expo Center.  Amber Jenne reporting for RURAL TV

The crowd was so big, the Senate Agriculture Committee moved the first hearing on the writing of the new five year Farm Bill to the largest hearing room in the Senate. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified that he wants the Farm Bill to help bring jobs and economic viability to rural in many ways. He wants bio-based economy that will allow producers to grow non-food stocks for renewable bio fuels. He also said that refineries for bio fuels will, for the most part, be located in rural America and be spread across the whole country.