U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Thursday, January 17 and Friday, January 18, in addition to Tuesday, January 22, during normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 21. [node:read-more:link]

Speaking at the Irish Grassland Association’s (IGA) Dairy Conference on January 9 in Co. Cork, John Roche from Down to Earth Advice presented on the topic of producing marginal milk to the large crowd in attendance on the day. “In the Irish system of milk production, base milk is cheap and marginal milk is very expensive to produce. [node:read-more:link]

Food businesses that import or prepare food for export from Canada will be required to follow new rules designed to remove unsafe food from the marketplace faster and stop the spread of disease, starting yesterday. The new Safe Foods for Canadians Regulations(SFCR), effective Jan. 15, cover a wide range of food safety-related efforts from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), including licensing, labeling standards, rules enforcement and new recall protocols. [node:read-more:link]

Medical centers in rural Wisconsin are working to meet the needs of underserved patients through technology — but that’s slow going and may not be the best replacement for human interaction in the future. [node:read-more:link]

Recent news analysis has asked - and tried to answer the question - of whether we can we save rural America. But our guest says that's the wrong question. He joins us to explore how rural America is saving itself and why rethinking what economic success looks like is key for the future of rural success. [node:read-more:link]

Rural and small towns in the United States have higher rates of self-employment than their urban and suburban counterparts. More than that, the more rural the county, the higher the rate of entrepreneurship—and these businesses tend to be more resilient because of their engagement with smaller communities. [node:read-more:link]

One way that Texas landowners can protect themselves from liability is to ensure that guests sign liability waivers before engaging in certain activities.  For example, oftentimes hunters that plan to hunt on the property of another are asked to sign a liability waiver (also called a release of liability).  A recent Texas case, Quiroz v. [node:read-more:link]

New national survey data released Jan. 10 found that consumers – by a nearly three-to-one margin – want the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to enforce existing regulations and prohibit non-dairy beverage companies from using the term “milk” on their product labels. FDA is currently soliciting public comment regarding front-of-package dairy labeling regulations through Jan. 28. [node:read-more:link]

Helping to make young people more connected to agriculture, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has chosen its next book of the year: “Right This Very Minute,” written by Lisl H. Detlefsen and illustrated by Renee Kurilla. Subtitled, “A Table-to-Farm Book about Food and Farming,” the kids book is a delicious celebration of agriculture and is sure to inspire readers of all ages to learn more about where their food comes from. [node:read-more:link]