McConnell aims for final farm bill vote ‘shortly after’ Labor Day
Congress could send the final version of the 2018 farm bill to President Trump for enactment in early September, a little over a month from now, if negotiators live up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's outline. Work requirements for SNAP recipients will be the crucial issue; the House and Senate are polar opposites on the question.
New York taps controversial bonus program to preserve SNAP at farmers markets
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to ensure farmers markets can continue accepting SNAP benefits through the end of the market season relies on funding from a controversial federal program that rewards states for implementing SNAP with low error rates—and that lawmakers may eliminate in the next farm bill. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
How CAFOs divided an Arkansas community
As a young man, Johnny Carroll Sain dreamed of owning an industrial hog farm like his uncle. Eventually, he did, raising hogs for Cargill on 55 acres in northern Arkansas. He's out of the business now, and in FERN's latest piece, published with Arkansas Life, he explores how industrial meat production has damaged the environment, the economy, and the social cohesion in his rural community. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Senate panel approves USDA and CFTC nominees
The Senate Agriculture Committee cleared two nominations, James Hubbard for agriculture undersecretary for natural resources and Dan Berkovitz for CFTC commissioner, for a Senate vote on Tuesday. If confirmed, as expected, Hubbard would be the fifth of the eight-member team of senior executives to join Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at USDA.
Chicken is top among food categories in CDC analysis of food-borne illnesses
Chicken is America'a favorite meat, with per capita consumption approaching 110 pounds per person this year, roughly twice as much as beef. Five CDC scientists who analyzed U.S. outbreaks of food-borne illness in recent years say chicken caused the largest number of illnesses when outbreaks were ranked by food category.
Perdue on the EU: ‘They need to step up and buy’
The United States expects Europe to follow through on a promise to buy more U.S. soybeans, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday. At the same time, he said that America will not respect EU claims to the exclusive use of such food names as Parma ham or Roquefort cheese.
‘High-road’ employers also value sustainability, study finds
A new study from the Food Chain Workers Alliance and Restaurant Opportunities Centers United found that restaurants that have higher employment standards are also invested in sourcing food that meets a higher level of environmental and economic sustainability.
Senate ag panel set to vote on CFTC and USDA nominees
Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee are scheduled to vote Tuesday on two Trump administration nominees, Dan Berkovitz to be a CFTC commissioner and James Hubbard to be agriculture undersecretary for natural resources.
USDA opens enrollment in new cotton subsidy program
Enrollment in a new cotton subsidy program, created by Congress early this year, will run until Dec. 7, said the USDA. The program, offered for so-called seed cotton, allows participants to choose from a pair of subsidy options.
Perdue estimates $7 billion to $8 billion in cash payments to producers
Two-thirds of the Trump tariff bailout of U.S. agriculture will be paid in cash to crop and livestock producers, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue over the weekend. Some $200 million of the aid will be spent on developing new export customers, Perdue told Reuters, and the rest would be used to purchase food for donation, to indirectly help other producers.
Community near Kansas City wins stay against cattle farm
Residents of Lone Jack, Missouri, won a stay last week against the planned expansion of a local cattle farm, which had applied for a permit to grow its herd from 600 to 6,999 cows. After much public debate, a state commission issued the stay on July 26.
New York State deal keeps SNAP working at farmers markets
Food stamp recipients in New York State will be able to use EBT cards, without interruption, at farmers markets throughout New York for the rest of the market season, announced Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
World grain supplies tighten, U.S. soy exports shrink
From the EU to the Urals, drought is hurting wheat and barley crops, said the International Grains Council, forecasting the smallest world grain crop in three years and the smallest “carry-over” supplies in four years.
In No. 1 corn and ethanol state, Trump says he’s ‘very close’ to year-round E15
President Trump, who campaigned for the White House as a friend of corn ethanol, said on Thursday that the administration is “very close” to approving year-round sales of a 15 percent blend of ethanol into gasoline. “We’re taking care of your ethanol,” said Trump during a trip to Iowa, the top corn-growing and ethanol-producing state.
At Pennsylvania hearing, dairy farmers testify about their struggling industry
On Tuesday, in Lairdsville, Pennsylvania, farmers gathered to discuss the current crisis in the dairy industry. They testified about the impact of falling milk prices, considered possible solutions, and expressed anger at federal policymakers’ spotty record of supporting the industry at a time when dairy farms across the country are going out of business.
Slow going on trade, no aid for small business, says Lighthizer
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told senators on Thursday that “hopefully, we are in the finishing stages” of negotiating the new NAFTA. At the same time, he said Japan is balking at writing a trade agreement with the United States and the administration has yet to start talks with other Pacific Rim nations as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
‘Big Four’ goal is farm bill as quickly as possible
The Republican chairmen and senior Democrats on the Senate and House Agriculture committees, known collectively the “Big Four,” met on Thursday and agreed “to get a farm bill finished as quickly as possible.”
U.S. heads for fourth straight year of low grocery-price inflation
Grocery prices will rise by a nearly invisible 0.5 percent this year and a modest 1.5 percent in 2019, estimated the USDA’s monthly Food Price Outlook on Thursday. If the forecast proves true, 2019 would be the fourth year in a row that supermarket prices rise at a much slower rate than the usual 2.1 percent annually.
‘Farmers are smart,’ won’t need more aid, says Perdue
U.S. farmers and ranchers were blindsided by the Trump trade war, but they will adapt quickly to lower commodity prices and disruptions in the export market, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday. “Farmers are smart,” he said, swatting down the idea that the White House will write another agriculture aid package after earmarking up to $12 billion for this year.
EU ruling: Gene editing is the same as ‘classical’ genetic modification
The relatively new field of gene editing is a form of genetic engineering, according to a European Court of Justice ruling that would make technology such as CRISPR subject to the same regulations as the “classical” genetic modification technology of the 1980s, reported BBC News.