But the dairy business has been difficult for the Pickards and other farmers across the state. Dave DeFreest, a loan manager for the USDA farm-service agency's Westford office, said fewer farmers are coming in for loans this year, while the industry is too expensive for young farmers to break into. Proposals include an insurance fund for farmers, a tax credit and a promotion program for local milk to be bottled separately and sold at a higher price. Rising grain prices, production costs...

NCBA and KLA support the bill as a means of enabling smaller meat processors to compete with their federally-inspected counterparts. House would allow state-inspected meat in interstate commerce. Federal law requires USDA to inspect all meat products shipped across state lines. If approved, beef producers supplying small local processing plants could reach a broader market with branded beef products. Legislation approved by Congress in the 1960s requires state inspection programs that are...

Re-opening the border to the older Canadian cattle not only has the potential to harm livestock producers by flooding the market with cattle, but it increases the risk of exposing American consumers to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, also known as "mad cow disease," R-CALF contends. Search the Rapid City Journal. Ultimately, it could be the deaths of people's pets, attributed to a banned substance in imported wheat gluten, that puts pressure on USDA, Fox said. Re-opening the...

Keeping livestock secure from the purposeful spreading of devastating diseases, crop supports for vegetable farmers and permanent repeal of the inheritance tax were also on farmers' minds. There's a sense of complacency out there because we've been able to deal with the BSE ("mad cow" disease) without a shock to our market," King said. He said that the success of ethanol and biodiesel manufacturing depends on keeping the livestock industry healthy and nearby, since it provides a feed...

Many people that are fed by taxpayers would rather keep being fed by the taxpayers rather than actually work. The Food Stamp program is a federal entitlement program, meaning everyone who applies and is determined to be within the guidelines will receive food stamp benefits. In 2002, the USDA study showed only 54 percent of the households eligible in New York state were utilizing the food stamp program. Surprisingly, this is not everyone who is entitled to food stamps. Contrary to what...