After many stops across the country, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue presented findings of the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to President Trump at the 2018 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The task force was formed by an executive order from President Trump in April 2017 with Secretary Perdue serving as chairman. According …
Produce Safety Rule Takes Effect Jan. 26
The highly anticipated Produce Safety Rule, part of the Food Safety Modernization Act, will go into effect for the largest farms on Jan. 26. Farms that make $500,000 or more in annual revenue will be the first to face the Produce Safety Rule. American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Veronica Nigh said the first year under the new rule will be …
Integrated Pest Management for Spotted Wing Drosophila
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative allows researchers in many parts of the United States to help find organic management strategies for devastating pests in their area. Ashfaq Sial, assistant professor at the University of Georgia, said he is using this initiative to research the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), …