News from August 2023


USDA Lifts PACA Reparation Sanctions on Illinois Produce Business

News Release: Washington - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that August Battaglia, doing business as QMP Sales, satisfied a $2,575 reparation order issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) involving unpaid produce transactions.


ARS Scientists and Research Partners Work on Developing Field Diagnostic Kit for Lebbeck Mealybug with a Safer Alternative

News Release: The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and research partners have found a faster, safer, and less expensive way for growers to detect the invasive Lebbeck mealybug, according to a recent study published in Journal of Applied Entomology.


USDA-AMS grant application closes on Dec. 22

Specialty Crop Multi-State Program grant opened on Aug. 24.


Export Sales to Unknown Destinations

Release: Private exporters reported the following sales activity.


Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule

Release: USDAs Food and Nutrition Service published a final rule on program integrity to ensure that child nutrition programs are properly operated and managed to protect federal funds and taxpayer dollars. The final rule impacts the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program.


USDA Announces $72.9 Million in Grant Funding Awarded to Support U.S. Specialty Crop Producers; Marks $1 Billion in Investments through this Program

News Release: Washington - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced $72.9 million awarded to 55 states and territories through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The grant program provides funding to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and support specialty crop growers through marketing, education, and research.


USDA Grows Private Sector Tech Innovation in Food and Agriculture

News Release: Highlights Technology Transfer Outcomes for Public Good


USDA-RBCS offers new grant application process starting Aug. 24

Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program - Phase 2 grant opened on Aug. 24.


USDA Announces $72.9 Million in Grant Funding Awarded to Support U.S. Specialty Crop Producers; Marks $1 Billion in Investments through this Program

News Release: WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2023 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced $72.9 million awarded to 55 states and territories through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The grant program provides funding to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and support specialty crop growers through marketing, education, and research.


USDA, USTR Name New Agricultural Trade Advisors

News Release: WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2023 - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced the appointment of 130 new private-sector representatives to serve on seven agricultural trade advisory committees that represent the diversity of U.S. agriculture. The new group of advisors will join the 70 existing committee members whose terms have not expired.


Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow Celebrates $1 Billion Invested In Specialty Crops Through Her Farm Bill Initiatives

News Release: WASHINGTON - Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) today announced that $1 billion has been invested across 12,000 projects to support our nation’s specialty crops since she established the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program in the 2008 Farm Bill. Specialty ...


Agriculture Department discusses Dairy Donation Program on Aug. 24

The US Agriculture Department published a one page rule on Aug. 24, according to the U.S. Government Publishing Office.


USDA, USTR Name New Agricultural Trade Advisors

News Release: Private exporters reported the following sales activity.


USDA Announces $10 Million in Grant Funding Available for the Specialty Crop Multistate Program

News Release: Washington - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced up to $10 million in available competitive grant funding through the 2023 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP). The SCMP strengthens the competitiveness of the nation’s specialty crop industry through collaborative multi-state partnerships.


USDA Makes More Grants Available for Meat and Poultry Processors

News Release: Washington - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Acting Under Secretary Roger Glendenning today announced that USDA is making more funding available for meat and poultry processors to expand operations, transform the food supply chain and create new and better markets for producers.


CORRECTION: Export Sales to China

Release: Private exporters reported the following sales activity.


Constituent Update - August 25, 2023

Release: The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC)a collaboration between FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)has published its upcoming priorities for calendar years 2024 - 2028.


Agriculture Department publishes 19 notices in week ending Aug. 12

There were 19 notices published by the Agriculture Department in week ending Aug. 12, according to the Federal Register.


Export Sales to Mexico and Unknown Destinations

Release: Private exporters reported the following sales activity.


Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $800 Million to Strengthen Rural Infrastructure and Create Jobs

News Release: Washington - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is investing $808 million to help rural cooperatives and utilities build and improve electric infrastructure and increase electric grid reliability and security, connecting hundreds of thousands of people in rural areas. This funding will also help provide clean drinking water and sanitary wastewater systems in rural areas for years to come.