Boosting global food security - USDA’s $455M Investment

Sep 25, 2023

The USDA is taking a significant step in battling global hunger by investing $455 million in the Food for Progress and McGovern-Dole Programs. This move is forecasted to deploy over 375,000 metric tons of U.S. commodities, making a considerable difference in many countries.

Food for Progress is working towards a world where everyone has access to food by developing agricultural value chains and promoting trade activities. The program's strategy involves selling commodities locally and regionally, ensuring the balance between helping developing markets and maintaining U.S. interests.

Meanwhile, the McGovern-Dole Program is a beacon of hope for school children, providing nutrition and promoting education. This program has been instrumental, delivering meals to millions and supporting educational programs in 48 countries for more than two decades.

This funding ensures that the McGovern-Dole Program remains the largest donor to school feeding initiatives worldwide. The upcoming projects are set to reach children in countries like Cameroon, Haiti, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, and Togo. Food for Progress projects are scheduled in Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Lesotho, Mauritania, Nepal, and Togo.

These investments underline the USDA’s and the administration’s dedication to meeting global nutritional requirements and the continuous success of such programs. The USDA also aims to reform America’s food system, with a focus on resilience, fairness, and access to healthy food for all communities.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

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.