Consumers associate dairy foods with specific positive nutritional characteristics, and those qualities do not necessarily carry over to nut- or plant-based products labeled as “milk,” “yogurt” or “cheese,” the American Farm Bureau Federation told federal regulators this week.
In formal comments to the Food and Drug Administration, AFBF said the mislabeling of nut- and plant-based beverages as “milk” confuses consumers from a nutritional equivalency standpoint. The FDA expects to issue a rule on the use of the names of dairy foods in the labeling of plant-based products later this year.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced today that the USDA has issued disaster designations for counties affected by Hurricane Michael in Oct. 2018. The designations are for extensive flooding and winds caused by the hurricane. These were contiguous designations for counties adjacent to North Carolina counties named by USDA as primary disaster areas. This is the second round of designations for Pittsylvania, Halifax and Mecklenburg, They also received designations in late 2018.
County Farm Bureau presidents and other Farm Bureau volunteer leaders crowded the halls of the Pocahontas Building Jan. 28 to meet with delegates and senators during the annual 
State legislators will learn more about issues important to the commonwealth’s farmers Jan. 28 during 
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that all Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices nationwide will soon reopen to provide additional administrative services to farmers and ranchers during the lapse in federal funding. Certain FSA offices have been providing limited services for existing loans and tax documents since January 17, and will continue to do so through January 23. Beginning January 24, however, all FSA offices will open and offer a longer list of transactions they will accommodate.
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