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Agriculture

USDA updates foods provided through WIC

CHICAGO — Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has finalized updates to the foods prescribed to participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC. These science-based revisions incorporate recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. The announcement follows the efforts to ensure that WIC was fully funded for FY 2024, including an extra $1 billion for the Special ...

$1.1M secured for PSU agricultural projects, programs

STATE COLLEGE — New funding of nearly $1.15 million will support a wide range of programs and projects at the Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences. The funding, secured through the Department of Agriculture, includes 13 grants that will support PSU’s Ag Resource Centers, the Center for Agricultural Law and multiple individual studies. Grant recipients and funding amounts include: Ag Resource Centers – $300,000. Center for Agricultural Law – $100,000. Evaluating ammonium thiosulfate and lime sulphur as apple bloom thinners: efficacy and pollinator ...

USDA to collect vegetable data in northeastern US

HARRISBURG — In the coming months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct the Vegetable Grower Inquiry Survey. The agency plans to collect data from vegetable growers across the United States, including over three thousand in the Northeastern Region. NASS conducts this vegetable survey once per year to obtain the final acreage, production, and value of sales for fresh and processed vegetables. NASS will compile and analyze the survey data and publish the results in a series of USDA reports, including the Annual ...

Ag Tour teaches an education for a lifetime

REEDSVILLE — While the Mifflin County Third Grade Ag Tour might be scheduled for one day each school year, Lily Savitts considers the lessons learned to be something that she will keep with her for a lifetime. That's why the Mifflin County High School 11th-grader believes it's so important ...

Juniata FFA Officers attend JC Farm Bureau fall meeting

MIFFLINTOWN — Juniata FFA Officers Wyatt Shellenberger, Reed Painter, Charles Telfer and Gretchen Dessin attended the Juniata County Farm Bureau fall meeting at the Walker Grange on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. The Juniata FFA officer team created harvest bags to thank local farmers and farm ...

PA Preferred directly supports local Pennsylvania farmers

My name is Blaine Imes and I have been a Juniata County Dairy Ambassador for nine years. As part of the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, dairy ambassadors are responsible for promoting the nutritional value and benefits of dairy foods. We also share the importance of dairy farms and dairy ...