USDA

China’s accelerating imports of American corn and soybeans in 2020 have continued this year. Understanding whether this marks a long-term shift requires not just a review of demand drivers, the geopolitics straddling Sino-U.S. trade relations and food security, but also innovation in food...

U.S. grain volumes have been a bright spot for the railroads, with higher volumes reflecting export demand. Indeed, grain carloads were up 23.2% year-to-date to 509,364 as of last Saturday, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Since September, grain rail carloads have...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed Tuesday it has entered into a new agreement with a chemical manufacturing company, Midwest Bioprocessing Center (MBC) to help expand the hemp seed oil-based cosmetic market. What happened: USDA’s chief scientific in-house research agency, The...

Food waste in the United States is estimated between 30% and 40% of the total food supply, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA's Economic Research Service estimated the loss at 31% at the retail and consumer levels. There are a number of reasons for food loss – from...

Rhode Island and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians received approvals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its hemp regulatory proposals. The news came on the heels of the USDA’s recent confirmation that it “continues to receive and review hemp production plans from...

Chinese ports are loosening access restrictions as the COVID-19 situation improves across the country. Even so, the world’s largest pork consumer is recording its lowest-ever imports from the U.S. In the week of March 5, Chinese buyers cancelled enough orders to push net U.S. export sales to...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday attempted to assure American farmers that a recently negotiated trade deal between the U.S. and China is starting to make headway. "President Trump and this Administration negotiated a strong trade agreement with China that promises significant...

Hauling hemp can be risky for drivers even though it's now legal to grow it, process it and sell it — which is why some states are including provisions in their hemp plans to try and ease the pain, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) top legal official. Speaking at USDA's...

By Reggie Gaudino, Chief Science Adviser, New Frontier Data In October 2018, the USDA activated their official hemp rules in the form of the "Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program". With those rules came additional guideline documents for sampling and testing, through a set...

By Beau Whitney, Vice President and Senior Economist, New Frontier Data Given widespread interest, investment, and issues in hemp since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the plant for nationwide U.S. production for the first time in decades, public comment was bound to be vigorous. By the time that the...

By William Sumner, Hemp Content Manager, New Frontier Data It pays to be green. According to market analysis by the Organic Trade Association, organic food and non-food products exceeded $50 billion in United States sales in 2018. Given the popularity of such products in the U.S., a growing number...

The last full week of the year, and decade, came with relatively few developments. We started off with some sad news, as we learned psychedelic pioneer and spiritual teacher Ram Dass, born Richard Alpert, died at 88. His work lives on in the hearts and minds of the many people he...