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Hydropower is a green-energy darling. But it comes with tremendous costs.
In FERN’s latest story, published with Truthdig, reporter Christopher Ketcham unpacks the extensive human and environmental costs of hydroelectricity, even as government regulators, environmental journalists, climate academics, and green-grid design wizards celebrate it as a key piece of our sustainable energy strategy.
USDA mandates bird flu tests of dairy cows before transport
Dairy farmers will be required to test their cattle for the H5N1 bird flu virus before shipping them across state lines, announced Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday as the government tries to prevent the spread of the disease and learn more about how it is transmitted. The virus, a lethal threat to poultry, has moved from cow to cow, herd to herd, and cow to poultry, and has appeared in cows with no symptoms.
Some crops will get bigger reference price increases than others, Thompson says
If Congress follows his lead, some commodities will get larger increases in reference prices than others, but the new farm bill will provide a robust safety net for all producers, said House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson on Wednesday. Thompson said his proposed package, to be released in coming weeks, would remove some of the “guardrails” that limit the use of climate mitigation funding.
Today’s quick hits, April 25, 2024
Water as rural voting issue: Democrats in Arizona hope to gain rural support by promising an adequate supply of drinking water for residents, many of whom fear that large farms are monopolizing the water supply to grow alfalfa. (New York Times) Primary challenge: Christian conservative and …
For the first time, administration sets limits on added sugars in school meals
Updated nutrition standards for school meals include the first-ever limit on added sugars in foods and beverages, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, calling the move "an important step forward in improving nutrition for our youngsters." The new regulations, which also call for less sodium in meals, were released on Wednesday.
White House sets goal to protect, restore 8 million acres of wetlands
As part of initiatives related to Earth Day, the Biden administration set "a bold, new national goal to protect, restore, and reconnect 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of our nation's rivers and streams" on Tuesday. The initiative could be the overdue response to the Supreme Court decision in 2023 that limited federal protection of wetlands but only seven states are currently taking part, said an attorney active in water law.
Today’s quick hits, April 24, 2024
USDA funds clean energy projects: More than 700 projects from California to Pennsylvania will share $238 million in grants and loans to expand the use of clean energy in rural America and to encourage sales of higher-blend biofuels, said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. (USDA) …
Bird flu virus susceptible to antiviral meds used against seasonal flu, says CDC
Testing has confirmed that antiviral medications used against the seasonal flu would be effective against the H5N1 bird flu virus that also infects dairy cattle, said the Centers for Disease Control. The USDA said on Monday the virus has been confirmed in 33 dairy herds in eight states since it was first identified on March 25.
Ten ag panelists on list of vulnerable House Democrats
The campaign committee for House Democrats lists 10 members of the House Agriculture Committee among 29 "Frontline Democrats" in a fundraising appeal. "We must defend all 29 vulnerable Democrats running for re-election" if the party is to win a House majority in the Nov. 5 general election, said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Today’s quick hits, April 23, 2024
Winter wheat condition declines: Half of the U.S. winter wheat crop was in good or excellent condition at the start of this week, down 5 points from last week as arid conditions spread; in Kansas, No. 1 in winter wheat, 36 percent of the wheat was rated good or excellent, down 7 points. …
GOP-written farm bill is headed for House defeat, says senior Democrat
House Republicans are following the "same ideological strategy that led to the failures of farm bills on the House floor in 2014 and 2018," said Georgia Rep. David Scott, the senior Democrat on the Agriculture Committee. Republicans plan to tamper with future SNAP benefits, a red line for Democrats, said Scott in an essay.
EPA issues waiver allowing summertime sales of E15
Pointing to war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, the Biden administration announced an emergency waiver allowing summertime sale nationwide of E15, a higher blend of ethanol into gasoline than the traditional 10 percent.
Today’s quick hits, April 22, 2024
Farmers oppose fertilizer deal: Iowa farmers asked FTC chair Lina Khan to block the proposed $3.6 billion purchase by Koch Industries of Iowa Fertilizer Co., which was created as an independent supplier with the aid of $545 million in government incentives and tax benefits. (Des Moines …
USDA assesses vaccine to protect cattle from bird flu virus
The Agriculture Department said its research agency “has begun to assess the potential to develop an effective vaccine” against the H5N1 bird flu virus in cattle, although it warned that it is too early to say how long the process would take. The virus has so far infected 29 dairy herds in eight states, though there have been no detections in commercial beef herds since the disease was identified in cattle in late March.
Global cropland growth is mostly in tropics, challenging U.S. role
The world has added 398 million harvested acres of food grains, feed grains, and oilseeds since the start of the 21st century, mostly in tropical nations, said four analysts writing at the farmdoc daily blog. “Only with significant changes in its production technology” would U.S. agriculture, accustomed to being a world leader in row crops, benefit from this expansion, they said.
Today’s quick hits, April 19, 2024
$1 billion in food aid: The Biden administration will use $1 billion from a USDA reserve to buy, ship, and distribute U.S.-grown foods for emergency assistance to 18 nations in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. (USDA) BLM to offer conservation leases: A rule released Thursday by the Bureau of …
Senators tell administration to ‘play offense’ on trade
The Biden administration is sitting on its hands when it ought to be knocking down trade barriers and negotiating new trade pacts for U.S. food and ag exports, said a bipartisan chorus of senators on Wednesday. Since President Biden took office in 2021, the administration has not initiated formal talks for a new free trade agreement anywhere, said members of the Senate Finance Committee during a hearing on the U.S. trade agenda.
Swampbuster rule is unconstitutional, says Iowa lawsuit
The Agriculture Department violates the Constitution by barring farmers from its support programs if they plant crops on wetlands, said an Iowa lawsuit that challenges the four-decade-old Swampbuster rule. The Pacific Legal Foundation, which won a Supreme Court decision last May that narrowed federal protection of wetlands, is one of three conservative law firms representing the plaintiff, CTM Holdings LLC.