DRG Media Group Beyond the Mic podcasts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released the finalization of a rule to align the voluntary “Product of USA” label claim with consumer understanding of what the claim means. During the 2024 National Farmers Union Convention, U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack talked about that topic, but first gave an update on enforcement of the Packers & Stockyards Act.

The United States Department of Agriculture projects U.S. farm sector income will continue to fall in 2024, after reaching record highs in 2022. During his address at the 2024 Commodity Classic event, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said his agency is doing all that it can to ensure American farmers can afford to produce the food, feed, fiber and fuel the world needs.

Learn about Ruth Jones Wakefield, the woman that invented the first chocolate chip cookie recipe.

The 2024 Commodity Classic event was held Feb. 27-March 2 in Houston, TX. One of speakers was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. He urged caution as the United States works through tensions with China because that country is a major importer of U.S. ag products.

Learn about Grace Brewster Hopper, the woman who created a way for computer code to be written in English rather than digital code.

Learn about astronaut Dr. Ellen Ochoa.

The South Dakota Department of Health has grant money available for Emergency Medical Services agencies across the state to develop and implement systems and solutions to support the sustainability of these critical services. EMS and Trauma Program Administrator Marty Link says this initiative is an outcome of the Regional Services Designation analysis completed in 2023.

Learn about women in the United States finally receiving the right to vote.

A Feb. 6, 2024, ruling by a federal District Court in Arizona vacated the registration for over-the-top applications of dicamba on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. As far as stocks of those chemicals retailers or farmers may already have on hand, South Dakota Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Hunter Roberts says regulators don’t yet know if they’ll be able to be used this spring.

Learn more about Dolly Parton in this episode of The Making of America.