GOP powers House committee passage of farm bill with $53 billion in new ag spending
The Republican-controlled House Agriculture Committee, with four Democratic crossovers, approved a farm bill early Friday that increases crop subsidy and crop insurance spending by one-third, cuts SNAP by $30 billion, and repudiates a Biden administration initiative on climate mitigation. Democrats said the bill has no chance of becoming law and might not survive a vote on the House floor because it lacks bipartisan support. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Dairy worker in Michigan has bird flu in second case of cow-to-human infection
A worker on a Michigan dairy farm contracted a mild case of H5 bird flu from infected cattle — the second cow-to-human infection since bird flu was first identified in dairy cattle in late March — said the Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday. The risk to the public remains low, said Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director.
GOP uses ‘counterfeit money’ to pay for farm bill, says Vilsack
House Republicans are building unrealistic expectations in farm country by relying on “counterfeit money” to pay for a $50 billion expansion of crop subsidies and crop insurance in the new farm bill, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. The House Agriculture Committee was expected to approve Chairman Glenn Thompson’s proposed bill on Thursday in a vote that would split along party lines.
Critics say House farm bill would pay out every year for Southern crops
Crop supports would be set so high in the farm bill written by House Republicans that cotton, peanut, and rice growers, and probably wheat and sorghum farmers too, "would receive a payment every year," said an environmental group on Tuesday. Farm groups called for Agriculture Committee passage of the bill later this week despite questions about the financial underpinnings of the five-year legislation.
USDA launches Summer EBT benefit for school children as ‘SUN Bucks’
The Biden administration launched its package of summer school meals programs, including the new summer EBT benefit, under the name of SUN Programs on Tuesday. SUN Bucks, the EBT program, was expected to help low-income families buy groceries for 21 million school-age children during the summer at a projected cost of $2.5 billion.
Environmental, anti-hunger groups join opposition to House farm bill
Anti-hunger groups, environmentalists, and fiscal conservatives are mobilizing against the House Republicans’ proposed farm bill ahead of its markup later this week, arguing that it benefits agribusiness at the expense of low-income people, taxpayers, and the climate.
Tyson plant closures left contract chicken farmers with debt and uncertainty
Tyson Foods says recent plant closures aimed at "driving out waste from the business." Contract chicken farmers are now stuck with uncertainty and massive loans. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
GOP farm bill increases crop subsidy ceiling by 24 percent
Row-crop farmers would be able to collect up to $155,000 a year in crop subsidies, a $30,000 increase from the current limit, under the farm bill written by House Republicans and scheduled for a committee vote on Thursday. And, for the first time, the subsidy ceiling, often a lightning rod for reformers, would be adjusted annually for inflation.
Trade ruling suggests weedkiller dumping hurt U.S. market
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled, in a 4-0 vote, there was a reasonable indication that domestic herbicide manufacturers were hurt by dumping of imported 2,4-D weedkiller from China and India. The ITC vote allows the Commerce Department to continue its investigation of the imports.
GOP farm bill puts SNAP savings into trade and horticulture programs
House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson would funnel $10 billion in food stamp cuts into an expansion of trade promotion and horticulture programs as part of the new farm bill, said Republican staff workers on Thursday. One of them called opponents of SNAP cuts “hunger weirdos” who “use poor people as props.” <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
USDA study shows cooking kills bird flu virus in meat
In tests conducted by USDA scientists, the H5N1 bird flu virus did not survive in hamburgers cooked to internal temperatures of 145 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. “These results validate that [Food Safety and Inspection Service] recommended cooking temperatures are sufficient to kill H5N1 in meat,” it said.
Crop subsidy costs could surge 56 percent under House farm bill, say analysts
The farm bill drafted by House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson could boost crop subsidy spending by $23 billion — 56 percent — above current levels and favor growers in the South over farmers in the North, according to analysts at two Midwestern universities. To offset the cost, they said, reductions may be needed in conservation, crop insurance, or nutrition programs.
Nebraska and Iowa again have top ag districts
The vast 3rd Congressional District of Nebraska and the 4th Congressional District of Iowa, separated by the Missouri River, are the top farm districts in America, based on the value of their crops and livestock, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
Stabenow: SNAP dispute makes 2024 farm bill the hardest yet
Protracted disputes over SNAP funding are preventing progress on the new farm bill and endangering support for the legislation, said Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow on Tuesday. The House Agriculture Committee was expected to vote next week on a Republican-written bill that would cut SNAP funding by $28 billion, despite Democratic opposition.
Appeals court upholds 2022 supplemental ethanol mandate
The EPA acted reasonably and within the law when it added a 250-million-gallon ethanol mandate to the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2022, said U.S. appellate judges in a 2-1 ruling on Tuesday. The supplement was intended by the EPA to make up for its mistake in lowering the 2016 RFS by too much.
Now a ‘maturing sector,’ organic food sales near $64 billion a year
Consumers loyally stuck with organic food despite inflation in 2023, and sales rose by a steady 3.5 percent, nearly the same as the grocery industry overall, said a report released by the Organic Trade Association on Tuesday. As recently as 2020, organic sales soared by 12.7 percent, but the pace slowed abruptly after the pandemic.
Ag bankers say farm income is down from 2023 in Central Plains
Farm income "retracted at a sharp pace" in the Central Plains ahead of the spring planting season, said the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, based on a quarterly survey of ag bankers. Sixty percent of the lenders — the highest percentage since early 2020 — said income was lower than a year earlier.
USDA and HHS allot $199 million to quash bird flu threat to cattle and humans
The Biden administration poured $199 million into the fight against the H5N1 bird flu virus, which was identified in cattle for the first time seven weeks ago, a worrisome step closer to people. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said dairy farmers are eligible for up to $28,000 in USDA aid in three months to help eradicate the virus from their herds, and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra announced new funding among public health agencies to "test, treat, prevent" the virus from spreading.
Still time to make a deal on farm bill, says Thompson
Seed bank leaders win $500,000 World Food Prize
Geoffrey Hawtin and Cary Fowler, founders of the “doomsday” seed bank in Norway, are this year’s winners of the $500,000 World Food Prize “for their longstanding contributions to seed conservation and crop biodiversity,” said the foundation overseeing the prize on Thursday. The scientists have been active for decades in efforts to preserve plant genetic resources, including an international plant treaty in 2001.