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Agriculture adviser Rod Snyder leaves EPA on Wednesday

Rod Snyder, the first director of EPA's agriculture and rural affairs office, said on Monday that he was leaving the agency after nearly three years as its agriculture adviser. EPA administrator Michael Regan said farmers, ranchers, and rural communities "will always have a seat at EPA's table" thanks to Snyder's influence.

The divers who keep the water flowing on California farms

In FERN's latest story, produced with KQED's The California Report, reporter Lisa Morehouse takes us inside the obscure, but crucial, work done by commercial divers to keep irrigation canals clear and functioning properly.

Biden accelerated racial divisions, says Vance, using USDA as example

The Biden administration "certainly accelerated" federal bias in favor of racial minorities, said Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, on Sunday, arguing that the Agriculture Department "handed out farm benefits to people based on skin color" rather than on merit. The USDA recently sent $2 billion in payments to 43,000 farmers who suffered discrimination when they applied for USDA farm loans.

Risk assessment validates ongoing U.S. response to H5N1 virus, says CDC

While the risk to the general population from the H5N1 avian flu virus remains low, an assessment rated its future pandemic potential as moderate, the same as previous assessments, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The results of this IRAT [Influenza Risk Assessment Tool] validate the pro-active, coordinated U.S. government response," said the CDC in a weekly report on bird flu.

Milk tank tests find 10 Colorado herds infected with bird flu

Ten new outbreaks of bird flu were found in Colorado dairy herds as the result of mandatory testing of milk samples from bulk tanks on the farms, reported the state’s Agriculture Department. The state veterinarian ordered the weekly tests in an effort to curb the spread of the H5N1 avian flu virus in the dairy and poultry industries.

Imports of renewable diesel are up 29 percent

The United States imported near-record volumes of renewable diesel fuel in each of the first five months of this year, averaging 30,000 barrels a day, said the Energy Information Administration. The imports, which were 29 percent higher than in the same period in 2023, came from one producer, Neste, and were shipped almost wholly to the West Coast.

‘We’re stuck’ on the farm bill, says Stabenow

Republicans are unwilling to compromise on SNAP and climate funding in the new farm bill, and as a result, “we’re stuck,” said Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow. “The only way you get that done is if it’s bipartisan.” Progress on the farm bill has been stalled for months. House and Senate Republicans want large increases in crop subsidy spending, cuts in SNAP funding, and to be able to use climate funding for soil and water projects that do not capture carbon or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

USDA to be more flexible on farm loans

The Agriculture Department will amend its farm loan rules, effective Sept. 25, to allow more flexibility in repayment terms for producers and to reduce the collateral required when they borrow money. “Implementing these improvements to our farm loan programs is the next step in our ongoing commitment to removing lending barriers,” said Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of the Farm Service Agency, on Wednesday.

Farm-state governor Walz is Harris’s choice for vice president

Second-term Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former schoolteacher who signed a law in 2023 providing school meals free of charge to all students, is a biofuels advocate who also supports a shift to carbon-free electricity in the state. Walz, 60, represented a rural Minnesota district in the U.S. House for six terms before running for governor in 2018.

EPA issues emergency order to suspend use of pesticide Dacthal

For the first time in nearly 40 years, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency order on Tuesday to suspend use of the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known as DCPA and Dacthal. "DCPA is so dangerous it needs to be removed from the market immediately," said Michael Freedhoff, an EPA chemical safety official.

Farmers expect land rental rates to hold steady in 2025

Cropland values have climbed for four years in a row, but three out of four farmers expect cash rental rates in 2025 to remain the same this year, said a Purdue University poll on Tuesday. The monthly Ag Economy Barometer said the rest of producers were split fairly evenly between those who expected an increase and those expecting a decrease in rental rates.

As bird flu spreads among dairy workers, OSHA’s hands are tied

In FERN's latest story, published with The New Republic, reporter Bryce Covert looks at the consequences for the current bird flu crisis of a 1976 congressional decision that undercut OSHA's ability to regulate the U.S. dairy industry.

USDA offers additional $300 million for export development

A second round of $300 million in funding is available through the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) to encourage U.S. food and agricultural exports to new markets, said Agriculture deputy secretary Xochitl Torres Small on Monday. Allocations are expected to be made by the end of the year.

Farmland loss in Midwest: 1.6 million acres in 20 years

The Midwest lost 1.06 percent of its farmland in the two decades ending in 2021; development accounted for half of the loss, said three Ohio State University analysts on Monday. "The role of large urban areas is paramount, as 81 percent of land lost to development in the eight states occurred within metropolitan statistical areas," which are regions with a core city of at least 50,000 people and strong ties to its surrounding communities.

Chairman vows to overrule CBO on question of overspending in GOP farm bill

The Republican-written House farm bill is $33 billion over budget and fails to pay for its large increase in crop subsidies, said congressional scorekeepers in an official cost estimate. House Agriculture chairman Glenn Thompson, who brushed aside earlier warnings about over-spending, said if the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office won't change its mind, he would rely on the House Budget Committee to overrule the CBO.

Cropland values soar 37 percent in four years

U.S. cropland is worth an average of $5,570 an acre, an increase of $1,510, or 37 percent, since 2020, said the USDA's annual Land Values report. The surge in land values accompanied the four highest years of net farm income, a gauge of profitability, for American farmers.

Projects will pay farmers to reduce water use in the West

Eighteen water districts in the arid U.S. West will receive a share of $400 million from the USDA for local projects that pay farmers to reduce water consumption while keeping land in production, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday. Irrigation use could drop by 50,000 acre-feet on 250,000 acres in 12 states, from Texas to California and Oregon.

Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ is larger than average

As predicted, the low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is larger than average this year, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday. At 6,705 square miles — or roughly the size of New Jersey — this year’s dead zone is more than three times the size of the target set for 2035.

Biden announces $2 billion in USDA discrimination payments

The government has issued $2 billion in payments to more than 43,000 farmers who suffered discrimination when they applied for USDA farm loans in the past, said President Biden on Wednesday. More than half of the recipients were producers in Mississippi and Alabama, who received a combined $905.5 million.

Multiyear run of low corn and soybean prices looms

Corn and soybean farmers should plan for much lower market prices for their crops in the near term, given trends in the futures markets, said six analysts writing at the farmdoc daily blog. “We may be again entering a period of lower prices, like that from 2014 through 2019,” they said.