US Department of Agriculture Announces Crop Progress Report Delayed Due to Hurricane Sandy

Oct 29, 2012

USDA’s Weekly Crop Progress Report Monday Release Postponed Due to “Frankinstorm”

The US agriculture community is going to have to wait to get their weekly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop progress report that is released at the beginning of every week, normally on Monday afternoon. The USDA has said that the report will be delayed as the federal government shuts down its operations to brace for Hurricane Sandy.

The USDA said that the report will be released once offices reopen following the storm. The US government told all non-emergency related workers to stay home on Monday. Despite the delay of the crop report, some other non-related data will be released on schedule including personal income and spending figures that will be released Monday morning.

Hurricane Sandy is expected to be one of the biggest storms to reach US mainland in history. Weather forecasters predict that Sandy could merge with several other weather systems - creating a “Frankenstorm” that will hit the Eastern US and Eastern Canada.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.