House panel approves $ 8.5 billion disaster bill for agriculture Responding to calamities that range from drought in the West to floods in the Southeast, the House Agriculture Committee approved an $ 8.5 billion disaster relief bill on Tuesday to cover farm and ranch losses in 2020 and this year. Producers would be eligible for […]
Committee clears Biden nominee Moffitt for vote in Senate Jennifer Moffitt, who would give farmers more leverage through USDA rules in dealing with meat processors, is one step away — a favorable vote in the Senate — from becoming agriculture undersecretary for marketing. Carbon credit market needs better standards – report Several programs exist to […]
ERS: Nearly $ 58 billion to farmers in pandemic year When crop insurance indemnities and unemployment benefits are counted, the government sent $ 57.7 billion to farm operations and farm households in 2020, while the pandemic sent the U.S. economy into recession, said a working paper by USDA economists. It was the highest estimate yet […]
Party-line committee split may not halt vote on BLM nominee President Biden’s choice to run the Bureau of Land Management will face a confirmation vote in the Senate without the committee endorsement given to nearly all nominees. After a heated debate that one senator called “a skunk fight,” the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee […]
Republicans oppose ag labor bill as ‘amnesty’ Senate Republicans threw up barriers on Wednesday to a House-passed bill that would give legal status to undocumented farmworkers and streamline the H-2A guestworker program. They called for action first to tighten control of the U.S.-Mexico border and vowed to vote against “amnesty” for undocumented farmworkers, who are […]
More pandemic aid on tap for agriculture, says Vilsack Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced up to $ 200 million in pandemic relief for loggers and timber haulers on Tuesday and said “there is more to come” for agriculture in the weeks ahead. Aid will include $ 700 million for biofuel producers and $ 980 million […]
USDA tops $ 7 billion in pandemic aid in four months With Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement of coronavirus aid to logging and timber hauling businesses, the USDA will near $ 7.4 billion in pandemic assistance since the Biden administration put its mark on the relief programs. Green groups sue EPA over BASF herbicide Comparing […]
RFS must consider impact on biodiversity, court tells EPA In a victory for environmental groups, a federal appeals court told the EPA to consider the effect of the ethanol mandate on endangered animals and plants. The ruling applied to the 2019 RFS but held implications for the agency’s development of the RFS for future years. […]
Pandemic brings highest global hunger rate in 12 years Nearly one of every 10 people on earth is undernourished, a huge increase in global hunger in a world wracked by the pandemic, said the United Nations on Monday. In an annual report on world nutrition, the UN said around 768 million people — more than […]
USDA is given large role in Biden plan to restore competition Siding with farm activists, President Biden said “Big Ag is putting a squeeze on farmers” and signed an executive order telling the USDA to rejuvenate the livestock, seed, fertilizer and retail food markets. The executive order on competition also called on the FTC to […]
Oregon adopts heat safety rule to protect farm labor and other workers In the wake of a heat wave blamed for the death of a farmworker, Oregon adopted an emergency rule on Thursday that guarantees workers rest breaks in the shade and plenty of cool water to drink during hot weather. Farmworker advocates called for […]
The 2021 Nut Growers Conference from the Northern Nut Growers Association, August 1-4, 2021 Since 1910 the Northern Nut Growers Association has been promoting the growing and research of temperate zone nut trees. Join the NNGA for their 2021 Virtual Conference, August 1 – 4. Nuts are nutritious and delicious, and nut trees play a […]
After pandemic pain, school meal programs brace for next year School districts across the country pared their menus, reduced staffing, and canceled equipment purchases because of the pandemic, but nearly half of them still lost money in the cafeteria during the past school year, said a survey released on Thursday by the School Nutrition Association. […]
Solar leases are more popular than carbon contracts among farmers The relative handful of farmers who have signed carbon sequestration contracts is half the size of the group that has leased land for solar electricity production, said Purdue University on Tuesday. Solar leases, which may exceed $ 1,000 an acre annually, are more lucrative than […]
Court losses are only temporary setbacks, says ethanol industry Despite losing two high-profile cases in seven days, the ethanol industry says the future is bright for the corn-based biofuel that it promotes as a low-carbon alternative to gasoline and a tool to slow global warming. Ongoing delays in P-EBT slow rollout of Biden’s summer food […]
Vilsack trade view: ‘Over-reliance on China,’ no deal with EU soon Ag exports, a key part of U.S. farm revenue, are expected to generate 36 cents of every $ 1 in cash income this year, thanks to high commodity prices as the world recovers its appetite and the pandemic recedes. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said […]