Emergency Benefits Prompted by COVID-19 (Washington, D.C., April 22, 2020) –Today, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced emergency benefit increases have reached $2.0 billion per month for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households across all 50 states and 3 territories to increase food security during the coronavirus national emergency. These emergency benefits represent a 40% increase in overall monthly SNAP benefits, significantly increasing food purchasing power for American families.   “These are…

Nationwide waivers grant states the flexibility to allow parent pick-up of meals for kids, ease burdens on local meal provider WASHINGTON, March 26, 2020 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced additional flexibilities to make it easier for children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities to get food during the COVID-19 national emergency and remove administrative roadblocks for the dedicated local staff who serve them. These changes are in line with USDA’s commitment…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is standing up a new team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff that will lead a department-wide effort focused on serving beginning farmers and ranchers. “More than a quarter of producers are beginning farmers,” said USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky. “We need to support the next generation of agricultural producers who we will soon rely upon to grow our nation’s food and fiber.” To institutionalize support…

WASHINGTON (March 12, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new method for conducting biological evaluations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to assure that pesticide registration review actions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) do not jeopardize endangered species. The updated method ensures that—when available—the agency will use high-quality historical data that reflects where and how certain pesticides are used. “Responsible pesticide use is an essential tool…

New rule encourages more robust services and opportunities to gain skills for today’s job market (Washington, D.C., March 5, 2020) – In light of President Trump’s historic economic expansion - with a 3.6% unemployment rate and 6.4 million job openings across the nation - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a proposed rule that will strengthen the way states serve SNAP recipients through Employment and Training. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants…

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a $19 million investment in three, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for almost 7,000 rural households, 46 farms, 32 pre-subscribed businesses, 19 critical community facilities and 15 educational facilities in rural Texas. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect Pilot Program investments. “Our core mission at USDA is to…

(Washington, D.C., February 28, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a memo today directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to acquire alternative fueled vehicles (AFV) when replacing conventionally fueled vehicles. USDA owns and operates one of the largest civilian fleets in the Federal Government and this move to a fleet that can use E85 or biodiesel will increase efficiencies and performance. Additionally, as part of the President Donald J.…

The Agriculture Innovation Agenda is a Solution for Farmers, Consumers, and the Environment (Washington, D.C, February 20, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, a department-wide initiative to align resources, programs, and research to position American agriculture to better meet future global demands. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will stimulate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent…