COLUMBUS, OH—Buckeye Power, Inc. was one of 16 electric cooperatives selected nationwide to receive a portion of $7.3 billion to build additional renewable energy projects to power Ohio’s 24 electric cooperatives. During a visit to Wisconsin today, President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will formerly announce the 16 cooperatives…
Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative (PPEC) recently gave the Village of Ottoville a $360,000 loan for industrial park infrastructure expansion through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program. This is PPEC’s first USDA loan to establish a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), which will help future community and business expansion…
USDA Announces $500 Million for Expanded Meat & Poultry Processing Capacity as Part of Efforts to Increase Competition, Level the Playing Field for Family Farmers and Ranchers, and Build a Better Food System USDA is announcing it intends to make significant investments to expand processing capacity and increase competition in meat and poultry processing to…
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Weeks before Ohio corn and soybean farmers put seed in the ground this past spring, the threat of a trade war loomed. Now both crops are thriving amid a trade war that’s likely bringing down prices of the two commodities. “I hear about it every day. There’s great concern out in the…
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a slate of Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Committee Appointees. State committees are selected by the Secretary, serve at the pleasure of the Secretary, and are responsible for carrying out FSA’s farm programs within delegated authorities. “The State Committees will help to ensure USDA is providing our farmers,…
Puerto Rico residents continuing to recover from the impacts of recent hurricanes could be eligible for increased nutrition assistance, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This temporary assistance will be distributed through the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), beginning March 1. NAP is administered by the USDA and is…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it is looking for innovative ideas to promote work and self-sufficiency among able-bodied adults participating in the department’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The public is invited to provide input through a notice in the Federal Register. Comments can be submitted on the web through the Federal Register.…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest nearly $32 million this year to mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality and restore healthy forest ecosystems in 24 states and Puerto Rico. Since 2014, USDA has invested $176 million in 56 Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Projects, which focus on areas where public forests and grasslands…
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that USDA invested in nearly 400 projects to provide essential services for more than 7 million people in rural areas across the country in Fiscal Year 2017. “Partnering with our small towns and cities to support essential services that rural residents need is one way USDA is facilitating prosperity in…
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue unveiled Farmers.gov, the new interactive one-stop website for producers maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farmers.gov is now live but will have multiple features added over the coming months to allow agricultural producers to make appointments with USDA offices, file forms, and apply for USDA programs. The…
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) urges Ohio farmers and producers who have not yet done so to respond to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture. Responses are accepted in the mail and online through February 5. “The data collected from the Census of Agriculture is critically important as decision makers…
Two USDA scientists have been honored as 2017 Fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, who serves as Administrator for USDA’s Agriculture Research Service as well as Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, and Dr. Autar K. Mattoo, an ARS plant physiologist, were named Fellows…
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is providing $10.9 million in technical and financial assistance to help farmers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands repair damage and rebuild following hurricanes Irma and María. This investment through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, a Farm Bill conservation program, is one more option available through USDA…
