Farm-labor reform bill heads for House vote this week
Six weeks after sponsors unveiled their plan, the House is scheduled to vote on a bipartisan bill to provide legal status to undocumented farmworkers and to modernize the H-2A guestworker program. If passed, the bill has an uncertain future, with impeachment dominating the congressional agenda and the Republican-run Senate blockading legislation from the Democratic-controlled House.
Kudlow says ‘no arbitrary deadlines,’ but a Sino-U.S. trigger date is near
China said it would waive import tariffs on some shipments of U.S. soybeans and pork in a goodwill gesture hours before White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the two nations were close to an interim agreement on the trade war. "No arbitrary deadlines," said Kudlow, but the Trump administration has set Dec. 15 as the date for higher duties on $160 billion of consumer goods made in China.
USDA opens enrollment as Conservation Reserve grows for first time since 2007
The Conservation Reserve signup that opens on Monday could see landowners idle the largest amount of fragile cropland in years, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, although some analysts say lower government payment rates will hold down enrollment in the program.
EPA boosts safety rules for M-44 cyanide cartridges
The EPA said on Thursday that although it will allow the continued use of cyanide in the anti-predator M-44 device, it will add safety requirements, including that the devices be placed farther away from residences.
Late harvest, bad weather put revenue pressures on country elevators
Between a weather-delayed harvest and uncertainties about the demand for their crops, farmers have been slow to sell corn and soybeans this fall. One consequence is tighter margins and revenue pressures on country elevators, said a report from ag lender CoBank.
Trump administration issues first of three rules to restrict SNAP access
Nearly a year after President Trump announced “immediate action on welfare reform,” his administration said on Wednesday that it would more stringently apply a 90-day limit on food stamps for able-bodied adults, a step that would disqualify 688,000 recipients from the SNAP program.
Cautious farmers dim Deere’s outlook for 2020
The world's largest farm equipment maker, Deere and Co., expects sales of its agricultural equipment to decline by 5-10 percent globally in the year ahead due to lower demand for big machinery. "Lingering trade tensions coupled with a year of difficult growing and harvesting conditions have caused many farmers to become cautious about making major investments in new equipment," said chief executive John May.
Key changes needed to ensure sustainable fisheries amid climate change, report says
Several key strategies must be implemented if there is any hope for sustainable fisheries in our rapidly warming oceans, says a new report from the Environmental Defense Fund. The report’s release coincides with COP25, a global climate conference being held this week in Madrid.
Japan approves ag and digital trade deal with U.S.
Beginning on Jan. 1, Japan will lower or eliminate tariffs on $7.2 billion worth of U.S. farm exports under a “mini” trade pact that received final approval in Japan’s parliament on Wednesday.
FDA won’t endorse CBD as ‘generally recognized as safe’
In a potential blow to the hottest-selling hemp product, the FDA said it "cannot conclude that CBD (cannabidiol) is generally recognized as safe among qualified experts for its use in human or animal food" because a lack of scientific evidence. The warning came as USDA gathers public comment on a rule that opens the way for nationwide cultivation of industrial hemp in the new year.
Farmers expect trade deal soon, but Trump says maybe not
Two states top $1 billion in Trump tariff payments this year
Producers in Iowa and Illinois reaped 20 percent of the trade war payments from the Trump administration, as cash disbursements leaped to nearly $10.2 billion nationwide for this year's crops and livestock. Iowa collected $1.15 billion and Illinois $1.06 billion, according to the USDA.
Judge says Iowa ag-gag law can’t be enforced, for now
As debts rise on school meals, a call for action
Trump proposals would shear SNAP rolls by 9 percent
Stronger-than-expected sales to China buoy US ag exports
Trump slaps tariffs on Brazil, Argentina metals – and French champagne
Brazil and Argentina are taking actions that are "not good for our farmers," said President Trump on Monday, announcing high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the South American nations. Trump, who announced the tariffs on social media, said the weakening Brazilian real and Argentina peso adversely affects U.S. manufacturing and agricultural exports, making American-made goods more expensive.
Peatlands, not rainforests, hardest hit in Indonesia fires
Forest fires burned 1.64 million hectares across seven provinces of Indonesia this year, with peatlands accounting for 41 percent of the area lost to flames, said the Center for International Forestry Research on Monday. The figures, based on satellite data, show that only a portion of the the fires could be attributed to direct land-clearing work for palm oil plantations.
Q&A: Jennifer E. Gaddis on school food, feminism and worker rights
In Jennifer E. Gaddis’s new book, The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools, school lunch is the framework for serious thinking about politics and people power. Gaddis makes the case that to reform school food, we need better working conditions and pay for cafeteria workers in addition to more nutritious ingredients. I asked Gaddis, an assistant professor of civil society and community studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to discuss the pillars of her research and how school food policy should move forward.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Three meals a day, if you include work or TV
Americans are devoting less time to meals than they did a decade ago and waiting longer before eating them, according to two USDA analysts. The old idea of three meals a day applies to 21st century America only if you include food consumption that is secondary to something else, such as working or watching TV and movies.