Anti-hunger groups to raise nutritional content of food-pantry items
Last week, Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization, announced a plan to boost the nutritional content of food distributed at food pantries, including more fresh produce, whole grains, and lean proteins, reports The Washington Post.
China deal could boost GMO-seed sales in U.S.
The new trade deal announced last week between China and the U.S. is expected to remove a major barrier to the sale of GMO seeds, reports Reuters. As part of the deal, China has agreed to review eight GM crops from the U.S., ending a years-long delay in the approval process by America's top export market for agricultural products.
Farm groups oppose end to USDA’s rural development office
Fearing the demotion of rural economic concerns and harm to their communities, rural and farm groups urged leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to oppose the USDA’s plan to eliminate the Office of Under Secretary for Rural Development.
USDA sees winter wheat crop falling by one-quarter; soybeans also down
Record-low planting of winter wheat and recent reports on harvests and yields “indicate a sharp decline in winter wheat production” in 2017/18, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. The May Wheat Report projected a 25 percent fall in yields of U.S. winter wheat.
Maine becomes final state to approve GMO potato
With a decision by the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, farmers in the state can now plant three varieties of genetically modified potatoes produced by J.R. Simplot Co., says the Bangor Daily News.
Soils called crucial to combating climate change
As the Trump administration teeters on the U.S. commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, around 200 scientists, climate activists, farmers, and NGO representatives from around the world convened earlier this month to focus on how to bring soil carbon sequestration to scale—and fast.
Spring arrives early in the West, confusing pollinators
With wildflowers blooming as many as 12-20 days ahead of long-term averages, spring has officially sprung early in the West, according to maps kept by the USA-National Phenology Network. “The exceptions are high-elevation Western mountains ... where spring is expected to arrive on time, and the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Pacific coast... where gusts of cold Arctic air have delayed spring,” says High Country News using the network’s data.
A meatpacking town steps up in wake of foiled terror attack
Last fall, the FBI derailed a plot by homegrown extremists to blow up an apartment complex in Garden City, Kan., that housed Somali refugees who had come there to work in the town’s meatpacking plants. In the latest story from FERN, produced in partnership with The New Republic, Ted Genoways tells how the town rallied around its newest residents.
Senate confirms Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative
On a bipartisan 82-14 vote, senators confirmed trade lawyer Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative, helping to complete President Trump's team of officials responsible for revamping U.S. trade agreements worldwide. The vote could open the door to renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
EPA gives green light to Bristol Bay mine permit in Alaska
Salmon fishermen are among many groups in Alaska upset by the EPA’s announcement that the Pebble Limited Partnership can now file for a mining permit in Bristol Bay, in the southwestern part of the state.
Farmland values stabilize in Midwest, sink in western Plains
For the first time since the summer of 2015, farmland values in the Midwest are holding steady, says the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. In a quarterly survey, agricultural bankers told the regional Fed that they expect land values to remain stable through spring.
EPA stalls on implementing pesticide applicator rule
The EPA has proposed delaying, by a year, the implementation of a pesticide-application rule made tougher under the Obama administration, said the agency in a press release.
After healthcare vote, two House Ag races in toss-ups
Two Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee, Jeff Denham of California and Don Bacon of Nebraska, are toss-ups for re-election following their votes for the GOP-drafted health care bill, said the political newsletter Sabato's Crystal Ball. The races, previously rated as "leans Republican," are in districts where Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ran well, according to the newsletter.
‘Organic’ corn, soybean imports called fraudulent
Millions of pounds of corn and soybeans imported to the United States in the past year were labeled “organic” but actually did not meet the requirements of the USDA label, according to The Washington Post.
Perdue unveils plan to reorganize USDA’s rural, farm and trade wings
Two weeks into the job, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue proposed today the first reorganization of USDA since 1994, a rapid start to President Trump's instructions to the cabinet to increase federal efficiency. The Perdue package creates a new position, undersecretary for trade; abolishes the undersecretary for rural development so Perdue would directly oversee economic development programs; and puts one undersecretary in charge of farm subsidies and land stewardship, responsibilities now split between two undersecretaries.
Trump nominates CFTC commissioner
President Trump has nominated Brian D. Quintenz of Ohio to be a commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to the White House website
U.S. wheat output to plunge 21 percent; price rises for first time in four years
Along with corn and soybeans, U.S. wheat prices reached a record high in 2013, just before the collapse of the commodity boom. The USDA projects that this year's wheat crop will end the four-year decline in prices, partly because the harvest will be nearly one-half billion bushels smaller than a year ago.
Huzzahs for new USDA trade office, qualms about stewardship and rural development
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue unveiled a USDA reorganization that would take effect in mid-June, highlighted by creation of a high-level office to promote U.S. farm exports, with President Trump's call for a smaller and more efficient government still on the docket. Small-farm advocates said rural economic development was downgraded by Perdue's package "in favor of boosting international trade."
U.S. bill to stop ‘lunch shaming’ is narrower than vanguard New Mexico law
The bipartisan bill filed in the House and Senate would stop four "lunch shaming" activities in public schools but would not assure students would get a hot meal, says Bettina Elias Siegel, who writes The Lunch Tray blog. The congressional legislation was modeled on a New Mexico law that requires all children receive the standard school meal, even if their family owes money on a food account.
U.S. signs Arctic treaty with nod to climate change
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed an agreement to fight climate change this week during his trip to Alaska for the Arctic Council, a multinational group that includes Russia and Canada. “The Arctic agreement Tillerson signed with foreign ministers from the other seven nations of the council, including Russia, Canada and Norway, made only a passing reference to the Paris pact,” reports Reuters. “It noted ‘entry into force’ of the pact and its implementation and called for global action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.”