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consumer tips


Cover Crops: Agriculture's Hero

March 31, 2015 Elizabeth Tatum, Agricultural Marketing Service Botanist

Cover crops are the real heroes in the world of agriculture. Their job starts after a field is harvested and ends just before the next season’s crop is planted. Expectations for cover crops are high because if they don’t produce, the next crop may suffer. After crops are harvested each year...

Conservation

Why Test Seeds?

November 05, 2014 Ernest Allen, Deputy Director of the Agriculture Marketing Service Seed Regulatory and Testing Division

Before the late 1800’s, there weren’t any standards or laws overseeing the seed trade. This allowed individuals to take advantage of the unorganized seed market by selling low quality seed to buyers. In some instances, what was sold wasn’t even seed at all. Unfortunately, even the most seasoned seed...

Research and Science

Cultivating Seeds of Success in a Global Marketplace

June 17, 2014 Fawad Shah, Director of the AMS Seed Regulatory and Testing Division

Did you know that corn and soybeans account for 50 percent of the harvested acres in the United States? Together, these two commodities had $106 billion in sales in 2012—not bad for products that start off as humble seeds. The U.S. seed industry is valued at more than $7 billion, and accounts for 34...

Conservation Trade

It All Starts with a Seed

February 18, 2014 Fawad Shah, Director of the AMS Seed Regulatory and Testing Division

Believe it or not, food doesn’t come from the refrigerator or even the kitchen. It doesn’t even come from the grocery store or the farmer. All food—whether meat, grain, vegetable or fruit—owes its existence to seeds. Seeds are the backbone of human existence, providing us with the fundamental...

Food and Nutrition Trade
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