Poll: Six in 10 voters oppose cuts in SNAP
A public opinion survey commissioned by the Johns Hopkins school of public health found that six in 10 voters oppose cuts in food stamps, the largest U.S. anti-hunger program. SNAP is the major issue in Senate and House negotiations over the 2018 farm bill.
End the trade war, farmers ask as Trump offers bailout
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it will spend up to $12 billion on a one-time aid package to offset the impact of the tit-for-tat tariff war on the farm sector. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue described the move as a “short-term solution” that would give the president time to rebalance trade rules worldwide. Farm groups said they would prefer to see an end to the trade war.
Roberts: The ‘Big Four’ should send a farm bill signal
As a demonstration of congressional determination to enact the new farm bill on time, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts wants the “Big Four” negotiators to meet before the House recesses for the rest of the summer. A meeting this week would “signal to farmers that we will get a bill ... before the Sept. 30 deadline,” he said.
Trump to visit farm country as trade war looms
With a visit to corn-and-pork-producing Iowa on Thursday, President Trump will have a chance to speak directly to farmers, a loyal block of supporters who have grown increasingly worried about the impact of Trump tariffs on their wallets. Farm groups have suggested repeatedly the administration find alternatives to tariffs for settling trade disputes but they have been willing to give the president time to show results.
‘Harassment has no place’ in the Forest Service, says USDA nominee
Lifelong forester James Hubbard told senators on Tuesday that if he is confirmed as agriculture undersecretary for natural resources, he will personally combat sexual harassment in the 32,000-member Forest Service.
Deep in the farm bill, a step forward for black farmers on heirs’ property
While debate over the farm bill has mostly centered on food assistance programs, an under-the-radar provision in the omnibus legislation could greatly assist farmers and ranchers who operate on heirs’ property—that is, inherited land that lacks clear title. The provision is particularly important to black farmers, because an estimated 40 percent of African-American owned land is located on heirs' property and as a result, those farmers have been blocked from federal farm programs.
As tariffs pressure crop prices, farmers lean on bankers
For three decades, the cycle was predictable for agricultural bankers: Farmers would use money from the sale of crops harvested in the fall to pay down their debts during the winter. But this year broke the pattern. Farm debt increased during the first quarter, said the Federal Reserve in a report that pointed to trade disputes and burdensome crop stockpiles as the likely causes.
House GOP tries anew on ag guest worker legislation
For the second time this summer, House Republican leaders backed creation of a new agricultural guest worker program, this time a three-year H-2C visa available for fish farms, dairy producers and meatpackers as well as crop farmers. Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington state applauded Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy "for their commitment to bring this to the floor" but the bill was not on the agenda for House action before the August recess.
Despite tighter rules, dicamba damages 1.1 million acres of soybeans – report
University weed scientists estimate at least 1.2 percent of U.S. soybean plantings have been damaged accidentally by the weedkiller dicamba despite stricter limits on its use this year, said a University of Missouri report. Damage was highest in Illinois, the No. 1 soybean-growing state, where 500,000 acres of the U.S. total of 1.1 million damaged acres are located. Arkansas was second with 300,000 damaged acres.
U.S. risks being left behind in ag trade race, says Roberts
Agricultural trade is a tool for growth, not a weapon of diplomacy, said Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts in warning that U.S. tariffs against trade partners are endangering America’s reputation as a reliable source of food.
As processor shutdown looms, nonprofit funds another month of SNAP at farmers markets
One week after FERN and the Washington Post reported on the imminent shutdown of an EBT payment processor responsible for 40 percent of all SNAP transactions at farmers markets, a national farmers market advocacy group has stepped in to fund the processor’s operations for another month. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Is BPA safe? FDA says yes, but independent scientists say not so fast.
A six-year effort to determine the best way to assess the toxicity of man-made chemicals in the food supply, such as bisphenol A (BPA), is winding down. But the debate over what the results mean is just getting started, with independent scientists worried that the FDA is ignoring cutting-edge research and doubling down on the industry-backed status quo that says BPA is safe, according to FERN’s latest story, published with HuffPost. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Administration would reduce protection of endangered species
The Interior and Commerce departments unveiled a proposed retrenchment of the Endangered Species Act that would remove key provisions, such as giving similar protection to species whether they are considered “endangered” or “threatened,” said the Washington Post.
House Republicans insist on welfare reform in the farm bill
Speaker Paul Ryan put welfare reform at the top of the agenda for upcoming farm bill negotiations with the Senate, saying on Wednesday that the work-or-job-training requirements backed by House Republicans for SNAP recipients are vital for putting Americans to work.
Will the digital divide delay access to USDA data?
Rural Americans are on the wrong side of the digital divide, with persistently lower rates of access to broadband service than their metropolitan counterparts. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue discussed the gap during an Axios interview this week, saying, “One of the things we’re really focusing on at USDA for rural development is broadband.”
Top meat and dairy companies emit more than ExxonMobil and Shell, report finds
The world’s top five meat and dairy companies — JBS, Tyson, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America, and Fonterra — emit more greenhouse gases between them than ExxonMobil, Shell, or BP, according to a new report from the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy and GRAIN.
Skeptical greeting for USDA nominee Hutchins
The Senate should reject President Trump’s nomination of DowDuPont executive Scott Hutchins for USDA chief scientist, said Food and Water Watch on Wednesday, calling him “a particularly egregious gift to the chemical industry that imperils our food system from field to plate.”
‘It’s really up to China,’ says Perdue in assessing course of trade war
The USDA began preparing for a trade war with China last fall, before President Trump confronted Beijing over unfair practices or imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Tuesday. Perdue said he would prefer a speedy settlement of the tit-for-tat battle of tariffs, but, "It's really up to China."
Undercover investigation finds animal abuse at JBS supplier
An undercover investigation by the farm animal welfare group Mercy For Animals recorded multiple instances of animal abuse and extreme confinement on Tosh Farms, a pork producer and supplier to JBS, the largest meat company in the world. The investigation coincides with an approaching ballot measure in California that would outlaw such practices for products sold in the state.
Keep EBT working at farmers markets, senators ask USDA
With the closure of a payment company looming at the end of this month, Senators urged the USDA to explore all options so SNAP recipients can continue to shop at farmers markets. The company, which processes 40 percent of SNAP sales at farmers markets, is ending service on July 31 and a successor company says it will take several weeks to get its equipment in place.