Senate bill calls for half of slaughter cattle to be sold on cash market
Large meatpackers would be required to buy 50 percent of their cattle for slaughter each week on the open market under legislation filed by nine senators. It was the second bill this month aimed at greater transparency in cattle prices.
Debt relief will be distributed as quickly, carefully as possible, says Vilsack
The USDA will disburse up to $4 billion in Biden-backed loan forgiveness to minority farmers as speedily as possible, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the first-ever House Agriculture Committee hearing on the state of Black farmers. Farm state Republicans said the debt relief, intended as compensation for decades of racism, was itself discriminatory because white farmers are excluded.
Lessons from the pandemic: Broaden child nutrition, be flexible on rules
The government should permanently adopt the innovations of the pandemic that made school meals available when classrooms were idle and allowed WIC interviews by phone and video rather than requiring applicants to appear in person, said Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow on Thursday.
USDA announces $12 billion in pandemic aid, aims for ‘a broader set of producers’
Following through on pledges of more equitable aid to agriculture, the Biden administration has created a new Pandemic Assistance for Producers program to distribute more than $12 billion in cash. It said on Wednesday that it wants to "reach a broader set of producers" than in previous Covid-19 aid programs.
Large ag exports to China create risk for U.S., says FCA chief
U.S. agriculture is running the risk of becoming overly reliant on large exports to China just over a year after Washington and Beijing de-escalated their trade war, said the head of the Farm Credit Administration on Wednesday.
New map shows which states are vaccinating food workers
As the Covid-19 vaccine becomes more widely available, the workers who pick, pack, process, sell, and serve our food have been placed in a range of vaccination priority groups. With FERN's new map, you can search to see where these workers are currently eligible to be vaccinated and, where they're not, when they will become eligible.<strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Senator suggests building climate mitigation on USDA conservation programs
The government should use USDA conservation programs as the starting point for climate mitigation on the farm and "tread lightly" with unproven ideas like a carbon bank, said the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. Arkansas Sen. John Boozman cautioned that climate-smart practices may be too expensive for some producers to adopt.
USDA hits ‘pause’ on cattle tracking proposal
Nine months after proposing a phase-out of metal and plastic identification ear tags, the USDA decided they can be used indefinitely on cattle that cross state borders, as well as cattle exhibited at fairs and for dairy cattle. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wanted to make radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs) the only approved tag, on grounds they would be more useful in case of an outbreak of dangerous diseases.
Debt relief is just the first step toward racial equity in agriculture, say senators
Vilsack says a carbon bank fits into USDA’s portfolio
Expect a bipartisan broadband bill, says House Ag chairman
USDA data paint a nuanced portrait of absentee landlords
In agricultural lore, the absentee landlord is often a resented figure, an outsider who reaps an income from the labor of the farmer and takes away the profits rather than investing in the local community. The modern-day situation is more nuanced, says a USDA study which finds that, for the most part, "non-operating landlords" (NOLS) live fairly close to their property.
China buys $850 million worth of U.S. corn
In a four-day shopping spree, importers bought 3.876 million tonnes of U.S. corn for delivery to China this marketing year, said the USDA. The corn was worth $850 million, based on futures prices in Chicago.
Feinstein to push farmworker bill in Senate
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she will work with fellow senators to give legal status to undocumented farmworkers and streamline the H-2A visa system for agricultural guestworkers. "It's time to give farmers the help they need and protect the essential workers who work hard to put food on our tables," said Feinstein, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Stabenow, Boozman urge Congress to make child nutrition a priority this year
Debbie Stabenow, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and John Boozman, the committee’s ranking Republican, said on Thursday that Congress should apply the lessons learned during the pandemic to strengthen and expand key child nutrition policies this year. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
SNAP numbers down from pandemic peak, but still higher than pre-pandemic levels
New USDA data show that SNAP enrollment declined last fall from a pandemic-driven high over the summer. In June 2020, 43 million Americans were enrolled in SNAP; by November, the number had dropped to 41.4 million.Â
House vote opens path to legal status for immigrant farmworkers
In a 247-174 vote, the Democrat-led House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act on Thursday, which would provide a path to legal status for almost one million immigrant farmworkers and reform the existing H-2A visa program for agricultural workers.
Vilsack calls for structural changes in U.S. food distribution systems to deal with hunger, equity
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stressed the need for structural changes to U.S. food distribution systems in order to tackle hunger, strengthen equity, and increase access to school meals during his keynote address Wednesday at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, a multi-day event co-sponsored by Feeding America and the Food Research & Action Center, in cooperation with the National CACFP Forum.<strong> (No paywall) </strong>
USDA: Student participation in school meal programs dropped by a third last year
Student participation in school meal programs dropped 30 percent in the first nine months of the pandemic, according to new USDA data, leaving kids without meals amid acute rates of food insecurity and draining the programs of critical revenue.
House clears pathway for farm labor reform bill
The Democrat-controlled House put a bill giving legal status to undocumented farmworkers and streamlining the H-2A guestworker program on the legislative fast track on Tuesday. Party leaders hope to score a victory this week on a popular idea — an earlier version of the bill passed with bipartisan backing in 2019 — even as support for comprehensive immigration reform is lacking.