Biden links climate change, jobs and environmental justice Introducing his climate team, President-elect Biden said his administration would respond to the existential threat of climate change “by building a modern, climate-resilient infrastructure and a clean energy future” that would put millions of Americans to work. “And we are committed to facing climate change by delivering […]
Covid cases in meatpacking counties were 10 times those in other rural counties During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, rural meatpacking counties had infection rates 10 times higher than rates in other rural counties, said the USDA on Thursday. And despite improvements, the Covid-19 rate in the 49 U.S. counties that rely on […]
Ag and ethanol groups ask Biden for help at home and overseas The ethanol industry, which says it has lost $ 3.8 billion in sales since March, is looking to the Biden administration for relief at the same time that farm groups want the new president to resolve the trade war with China. But a […]
Monarch butterflies are in peril but won’t go on U.S. endangered list The orange-and-black monarch butterfly, known for its 3,000-mile migration across North America and its plunging population, meets the criteria for listing as a threatened or endangered species, said the Interior Department on Tuesday. But it will be listed only as a candidate for […]
FDA approves genetically modified pig for food and medical use For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration approved for food and human therapeutics on Monday a genomic alteration in domestic pigs that prevents them from producing a sugar that can cause allergic reactions in some people. Meyer to succeed Johansson as USDA chief […]
Biden vows to pay farmers to plant cover crops and put land in conservation The government will help farmers mitigate climate change by paying them to “put their land in conservation” and plant cover crops, said President-elect Biden, providing some details on his campaign call to offset greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. The sector accounts […]
New fair play rule hurts livestock producers, say ag groups One of the largest U.S. farm groups called for the incoming Biden administration to rescind a new fair play rule for livestock marketing, unveiled by the Agriculture Department on Thursday, that it sees as a setback for family farmers in dealing with the handful of […]
Farm groups cheer, progressives lament return of Vilsack to USDA President-elect Joe Biden’s selection of Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary angered farm and food activists who feuded with Vilsack during the Obama years and had hoped for a progressive agenda under Biden. The largest U.S. farm groups welcomed Vilsack on Wednesday as an experienced leader […]
Biden chooses moderate Vilsack to return as agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary throughout the Obama years, is President-elect Biden’s choice to lead the USDA as farmers seek to recover from a trade war with China and the Covid-19 pandemic. A former governor of Iowa, Vilsack was a top backer of Biden in rural America […]
A Biden possibility: Tom Vilsack as three-term agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack could be on the verge of competing with a fellow Iowan, “Tama Jim” Wilson, for the record of longest-serving cabinet secretary in U.S. history. But as soon as Vilsack was identified on Monday as the leading contender for agriculture secretary in the Biden administration, […]
Small share of coronavirus package for food aid and farmers The final coronavirus aid package of the year would direct 3 percent of its $ 900 billion in funding to food assistance and relief for agricultural producers, according to its Democratic and Republican sponsors. “It’s a deal that must come together,” said one of the […]
First Black chairman of House Ag will fight climate change, rural-urban split Rep. David Scott of Georgia soundly defeated a California rival in a vote among majority-party Democrats on Thursday to become the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Scott, who represents a suburban Atlanta district with 313 farms, pledged to tackle an […]
Record-high ag subsidies to supply 39 percent of farm income Despite the effects of the pandemic and the trade war, U.S. farm income this year will be the highest since 2013 because of the largest federal payments ever — $ 46.5 billion, triple the usual amount, the government said on Wednesday. Think tank analysts said […]
(Forbers) On December 21, Saturn and Jupiter will align into a beautiful bright star. This will be the first time they align like this since the Middle Ages. According to Forbes, the two planets will look like a “double planet” and provide an extraordinary amount of light. The last time these two planets aligned like […]
Farmers growing skeptical of victory in Sino-U.S. trade war American farmers were dogged supporters of President Trump’s trade war with China, accepting as “patriot farmers” the pain of retaliatory tariffs in the belief Beijing would be forced to alter its trade practices. But they are becoming skeptical of victory: Only half of them believe the […]
More than agriculture at USDA, but not in its name It took little more than a shake of the head and a few reproachful words for House Agriculture chairman Kika de la Garza to sink a Clinton-era proposal to change the USDA’s name to the Department of Food and Agriculture. “It would better reflect what […]