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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 dev...

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 the pandemic-related...

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 The Un...

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 yet scheduled action on its Fiscal 2021 funding measures.
On Thursday, the Appr...

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 have been made to ex...

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 remained unspent at the time of closure. The e...

Researchers confirmed the first finding of Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in South Carolina. A homeowner in Charleston County found a suspicious looking insect that was later identified by specialists at Clemson University’s Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic and USDA APHIS. At least four maple trees had live beetles present.

Only five other states have reported ALB infestations...

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 to support a separ...

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.

Judge William B...

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 the horticultur...