Department of Agriculture

An invasion of Asian giant hornets became the latest 2020 worry — and internet sensation — as the term “murder hornet” began to trend over the weekend.

Animal shelters from around Georgia were called in to help authorities rescue 700 dogs from a home in Valdosta. News outlets report the shelters say the dogs were kept in small cages, and many of the animals rescued on Saturday had never been walked or held before. One shelter, Release Atlanta, calls it “an extreme hoarding puppy mill case.” A...

One of the largest food pantries in the Chicago area is bracing to serve more people if the Trump Administration’s proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) becomes a reality.

Hector Muñoz owns a coffee farm in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, and hurricanes aren’t the only natural disasters he’s worried about. “If a drought comes it could be catastrophic,” he said. He has reason to be concerned. Powerful El Niños are expected over the next decade and they typically bring drought conditions. Adding to the challenge is the possible impact...

Florida’s iconic palm trees are under attack from a fatal disease that turns them to dried crisps in months, with no chance for recovery once they become ill.

Residents signing up for food stamps in Minnesota are provided a brochure about domestic violence, but it doesn’t matter if they even read the pamphlet. The mere fact it was made available could allow them to qualify for government food aid if their earnings or savings exceed federal limits. As odd as that might sound, it’s not actually unusual. Thirty-eight...

The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed tightening automatic eligibility requirements for the food stamp program, a change that could affect about 3.1 million people. The Agriculture Department said the rule would close “a loophole” that enables people receiving only minimal benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to be eligible automatically for food stamps. “For too long, this...

When President Donald Trump’s administration announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers struggling under the financial strain of his trade dispute with China, the payments were capped. But many large farming operations had no trouble finding legal ways around them.

The 1,100-pound animals, taking 20-foot-plus strides, gallop on ankles which have been likened to glass. Suddenly, the entire sport of thoroughbred racing stands on fragile legs.

Six states and the District of Columbia sued the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday, saying it weakened nutritional standards in school breakfasts and lunches when it relaxed the requirements affecting salt and refined grains last year. The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court asked a judge to overturn the changes, saying they were carried out in an arbitrary and capricious manner....

Often touted for being highly nutritious, kale has joined the list of 11 other fruits and vegetables known to be “dirty,” according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group. The watchdog group publishes its “Dirty Dozen” list annually, in which it ranks the 12 produce items that contain the highest amount of pesticide residues. The group analyzes data from...

Often touted for being highly nutritious, kale has joined the list of 11 other fruits and vegetables known to be “dirty,” according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group. The watchdog group publishes its “Dirty Dozen” list annually, in which it ranks the 12 produce items that contain the highest amount of pesticide residues. The group analyzes data from...

Butterball is recalling nearly 80,000 pounds — 39 tons — of raw ground turkey products that may be contaminated with a certain strain of Salmonella.

A 7-year-old boy in Columbia County, Georgia has saved more than 1,000 dogs. Roman McConn and his mom started Project Freedom Ride to get dogs out of shelters and into new homes. “I want these dogs to find a brilliant home – a home that they’ll love forever,” Roman said.

Subaru is recalling 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S. because chemicals used in everyday products — including perfume — could prevent the brake lights from illuminating properly.

National parks across the United States are scrambling to clean up and repair damage that visitors and storms caused during the recent government shutdown while bracing for the possibility of another closure ahead of the busy Presidents Day weekend later this month. Visitors left human waste, piles of trash, graffiti, used unauthorized trails and damaged Joshua trees at the namesake...

Federal employees are turning on office lights and computers and reopening national parks and museums for the first time in weeks, but others employed by government contractors face still more uncertainty over when they’ll resume work or whether they’ll ever be paid for time lost to the stalemate over President Donald Trump’s border wall. For the hundreds of thousands of...

Doris Cochran, a disabled mother of two young boys, is stockpiling canned foods these days, filling her shelves with noodle soup, green beans, peaches and pears—anything that can last for months, or even years. Her pantry looks like she’s preparing for a winter storm. But she’s just trying to make sure her family won’t go hungry if her food stamps...

The Food and Drug Administration said it will resume inspections of some of the riskiest foods such as cheeses, produce and infant formula as early as Tuesday. The routine inspections had been briefly halted as a result of the partial government shutdown. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Monday that the agency is bringing back about 150 unpaid employees for the...

The end of 2018 seemed to signal good things to come for America’s farmers. Fresh off the passage of the farm bill, which reauthorized agriculture, conservation and safety net programs, the Agriculture Department last week announced a second round of direct payments to growers hardest hit by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. Then parts of the government shut...