The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), in partnership with the National Cotton Council (NCC), is piloting a program for the 2024-2025 cotton crop that will allow bales to be shipped in four-bale groupings that use averaged quality data. This program will make the flow of cotton into the marketplace more efficient, a goal of both the cotton industry and USDA.

In partnership with the National Cotton Council (NCC), USDA is piloting a program for the 2024-2025 cotton crop that will allow bales to be shipped in four-bale groupings that use averaged quality data. These groupings of four bales or multiples of four bales will carry the same official USDA classing data for all eight quality factors in an effort to make the flow of cotton into the marketplace more efficient.

The Yakama Nation Tribal Government has begun taking measures to provide the Yakama people with increased access to fresh, local, and high-quality food sources that support their traditional diets and assist in upholding their sovereign treaty rights. The after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have continued to upset the supply chain and are impacting marginalized communities at a disproportionate rate. Local food systems are successfully increasing access to affordable, reliable, and nutritious products to areas that are particularly vulnerable to becoming “food deserts”.

Relatives Feeding Relatives is an initiative to promote traditional foodways, increase access to healthy foods, and invest in the local food economy for the Sicangu Oyate (Rosebud Sioux Tribe). The program aggregates locally produced and wild harvested foods, with procurement led by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s economic development arm – Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO).

The Fort Yukon Healthy Foods Distribution Program will purchase and distribute healthy, unprocessed foods from local/regional ranchers and farmers to distribute to tribal households in Fort Yukon, AK, meeting the nutrition needs of the local population. Intended beneficiaries of this program will be underserved households in Fort Yukon. The Tribe will enter into purchase agreements with local farms, ranches, and other food suppliers at the local and regional level, establish a supply chain to ship the food, and distribute these foods locally.

Live Animal Requirements – AAkA – Live Animal Specification (pdf)

USDA Certified Information – G-158 Specification (pdf), effective August 2024

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