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Intelligent Sprayer Continues To Impress And Expands To Greenhouse

The intelligent sprayer, a precision agriculture tool originally designed for use in nursery production, is featured in USDA ARS’ 2019 Annual Report on Science, an honor of distinction reserved for outstanding research developments supported by USDA ARS. This technology is a rare example of a technology developed specifically for environmental horticulture and then adapted to other […]

Paycheck Protection Program Extended Until August

With money still left in the program, the application date for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been extended until August 8th, giving business owners an extra month to apply for loans. The application period for the program was slated to expire on June 30th — however, the Small Business Administration revealed that over $130B […]

USDA Announces Eligibility Of Some Additional Commodities For Relief Program

The Department of Agriculture announced eligibility of some additional commodities to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) on July 9, the first pronouncement since a comment period ended on eligibility for commodities not part of the program. The statement noted that numerous smaller food commodities have now been added to the CFAP program and modifications […]

Notables From Appropriations Process

During the past two weeks, the House Appropriations Committee has passed all of its Fiscal 2021 funding bills out of subcommittee and some bills out of full committee. The House plans to take up all of the annual spending bills on the House floor by the end of July. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not […]

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Visits Arizona

On Tuesday, July 7, AmericanHort advocacy committee member and Arizona Nursery Association (ANA) President Tyler Francis, along with ANA Executive Director Cheryl Goar, had the opportunity to participate in an Ag Roundtable with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. The event, organized by Sen. Martha McSally, allowed them and other representatives from agricultural commodity groups and […]

Toward Effective Agriculture Inspection in a Pandemic

Ever since the Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of 9-11, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors have been on the front lines inspecting incoming commodities and other cargo and packaging for invasive pests that threaten agriculture, landscapes, and the environment. Unfortunately, these inspections are largely funded through user fees, and […]

Roundup Settlement Announced

Bayer announced last week that it has reached settlement agreements that will resolve several outstanding lawsuits related to Roundup (glyphosate). According to a Bayer press release, “The company will make a payment of $8.8 billion to $9.6 billion to resolve the current Roundup litigation, including an allowance expected to cover unresolved claims, and $1.25 billion […]

Lawmakers Push To Have Agricultural Trucking Relief Act Included In Transportation Bill

Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) are teaming up to have H.R. 1673, The Agricultural Trucking Relief Act of 2019, inserted into the House Transportation and Infrastructure bill this week as a floor amendment. As mentioned in prior newsletters, their legislation would modify the current agricultural commodity definition for transportation to explicitly include […]

Glyphosate No Longer Part Of Proposition 65

A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled that the label warning requirement for glyphosate under California’s Proposition 65 is unfounded. Therefore, Bayer is not required to include a cancer warning on products containing the herbicide. This follows the judge’s preliminary ruling in 2018 and is permanent and final. […]