June 20, 2023 The Honorable Thomas J. Vilsack Secretary United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW Washington, D.C. 20250 Dear Secretary Vilsack: We write to express our disappointment in the failure of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to publish annual reports to Congress on the National Dairy Promotion and Research Program and…

USDA Launches Effort to Strengthen Substantiation of Animal-Raising Claims Release & Contact Info Press Release Release No. 0127.23 Contact: USDA Press Email: press WASHINGTON, June 14, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it is implementing a multi-step effort aimed at strengthening the substantiation of animal-raising claims. This action builds on…

Opinion-Editorial by R-CALF USA Region VIII Director Dave Hyde Below please find an op-ed by R-CALF USA Region VIII Director Dave Hyde regarding the Opinion by Colin Woodall: “Sen. Mike Lee sides with animal rights activists over Utah ranchers,” published May 18, 2023, in The Salt Lake Tribune. Region VIII Director Dave Hyde The recent…

Walmart building plant in Kansas Beef-packing to be site’s purpose by Serenah McKay | Today at 7:30 a.m. FILE – In this Nov. 18, 2020 file photo, a Walmart store sign is visible from Route 28 in Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) Walmart Inc. is investing $257 million to build a beef-packing plant in…

Retail Consolidation: Crisis Across the Food Chain June 8, 2023 Amid the ongoing fight to stop the disastrous proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger, Farm Action’s Angela Huffman discussed the downstream effects of retail consolidation on farmers, consumers, and other small retailers during the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s (ILSR) recent webinar. Angela spoke alongside FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya,…

Checkoff program critics eye farm bill to win new restrictions 06/07/23 By Noah Wicks Agri-Pulse Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., (left) and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, (right) confer on the sidelines of a 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Critics of commodity checkoffs are making a fresh run at imposing new restrictions on…

Diane Sare, candidate for United States Senate in New York, in a discussion with American farm leaders and Secretary Leader of the Netherland Farmers Defence Force,” Sieta van Keimpema” leading the fight to prevent cutting Dutch farming in half! Full interview and discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DecWpeMgmE&t=9s

USDA releases ‘Product of USA’ labeling survey data By Chris Moore on 5/23/2023 The USDA released survey results on consumer understanding of the "Product of USA" labeling claim. Proposed rules would allow the claims on single-ingredient products derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States. Multi-ingredient products could also use the…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2023 Media Contact: Dee Laninga, dlaninga, 202-450-0094 Ag Appropriations Bill Aims to Kill USDA Meatpacking Competition Rulemaking Republican House Appropriators Cave to Corporate Meatpacking Lobby Washington, D.C. — The FY24 Agriculture Appropriations bill and summary released this morning by the House Appropriations Committee included a harmful provision to prevent USDA…

Big Meat lobbyists are bullying lawmakers into submission In his latest column, Dave Dickey takes on Big Beef’s big players — Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef — and their shenanigans to protect their bottom lines. by Dave Dickey June 1, 2023 Ground beef meat products at a grocery store in Fairfax, Virginia. USDA Photo…