ARS

How are Doge cuts impacting the farming community?  That depends on who you ask.   Some in rural America are applauding the Administration’s work to trim agencies in an effort to shrink the national debt.  But others are concerned that these cuts to USDA, ARS, and others will create more problems for farmers than they will prevent.  Central Washington’s Dan New...

Oregon State University announced last week that Dr. Steve Young has been named the new Director of the North Willamette Research and Extension Center, effective June 16th.  OSU said Young brings a strong track record of strategic leadership and program development across research, extension, and federal service.   ...

Earlier this week, Oregon’s senators sent a letter to the Ag Secretary, regarding staffing shortages at the ARS after mass firings by the Trump Administration.  Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said they are concerned about the impacts these shortages will have on the farmers, ranchers and fisherman across the state, and across the country, and their ability to remain competitive.  The senators ... Read

Love grapes? Maybe you are a traditionalist regarding flavors and taste. Maybe you like to venture into exotic fare like, say, cotton candy flavored grapes (there is such a thing).  No matter what your palate enjoys regarding grapes, know that chances are they are a product of traditional plant cross breeding.  ...

ABC News is reporting the USDA has directed agency officials to review and remove content related to climate change from its public websites.  ABC News said they obtained internal e-mails that say the directive instructs web managers to identify, archive, or unpublish materials mentioning climate change by "no later than close of business Friday”.  In an email sent Thursd...

Advances in crop production and preservation are poised for a new location as the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service broke ground for a modernized facility.  The new structure will consolidate all the labs that are currently located at the University of California-Davis.   ARS s...

A team of Agricultural Research Service and university scientists released two new oat germplasm lines to shore up the crop’s defenses against the devastating fungal disease crown rust.  The team specifically created the oat lines so that they could be crossed with elite commercial varieties to fortify them with new genetic sources of resistance to crown rust.  The disease c...

Last week, Agricultural Marketing Service awarded over $2 million for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding to Idaho for Fiscal Year 2024.  The Idaho State Department of Agriculture will take the money and fund projects focused on enhancing the competitiveness of specialty crop products and create new market opportunities for the state’s specialty crop producers.   “...

New research from the USDA offers new methods for vineyards to prevent and detect destructive mealybugs.

Scientists with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are developing new tests to identify and track the COVID virus in wild and domestic animals.  Funded by the American Rescue Plan, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is implementing $300 million to conduct monitoring and surveillance of susceptible animals for the COVID virus.  Through the initiat...