Add biochar to USDA land stewardship practices, suggests carbon group
The new farm bill should allow direct incentive payments by USDA to farmers who use surplus crop and forestry residues for biochar projects rather than burning them and releasing greenhouse gases, said the Carbon Business Council on Tuesday. The council, speaking for carbon management companies, also recommended that Congress create a permitting process for carbon storage on national forest land.
USDA aid to financially distressed borrowers tops $1 billion
The Agriculture Department announced an additional $130 million in assistance to financially distressed borrowers on Monday, boosting total farm loan relief for producers to approximately $1.1 billion since last fall. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Congress wanted aid delivered quickly "and that is what we are delivering to help producers across the country stay on their land."
Land values in Brazil soy belt doubled from 2019-22
Cropland prices in Brazil doubled from 2019-22, pulled up by high commodity prices and strong investor demand, and aided by low interest rates, said four University of Illinois agricultural economists.
EPA issues emergency waiver for summertime sale of E15
For the second year in a row, the EPA said it would waive air pollution rules and permit summertime sale of E15 — gasoline with a 15 percent mix of ethanol — on an emergency basis, even though fuel prices are roughly 57 cents a gallon lower than they were a year ago.
USDA launches $3.1 billion climate-smart initiative
Sixteen months after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a project to help farmers develop markets for sustainably produced commodities, the USDA formally put the initiative into operation on Thursday. Some $3.1 billion — three times more than originally planned — would be spent on 141 pilot projects to offer incentives that encourage producers to adopt climate-mitigating practices on working lands. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Grocery inflation continues to cool in 2023
Grocery prices will rise 6.6 percent this year, with lower beef and pork prices helping to constrain the inflation rate after last year’s 11.4 percent rise, said USDA economists. At the start of the year, the USDA forecast an 8.6 percent increase in prices, but it has lowered its estimate for two months in a row.
House GOP grants reprieve to biofuel credits in debt bill
In the hours ahead of a roll call on their debt limit bill, House Republican leaders relented on a proposal to eliminate tax credits for biodiesel, renewable diesel, and second-generation biofuels. They proceeded with a repeal of the $1.25-a-gallon credit for sustainable aviation fuel that was created last summer as part of the climate, health, and tax bill.
Budget fight complicates drafting of farm bill
Lawmakers have spent a year in listening sessions and congressional hearings for the 2023 farm bill but are still weeks away from drafting the legislation, said leaders of the Senate and House Agriculture committees. They are waiting for new budget estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, expected in mid-May, and for a decision on raising the federal debt limit.
Debt limit bill is not the last look at SNAP rules
No matter the fate of debt limit legislation in the House, and its proposal to more widely apply a 90-day limit on SNAP benefits, Congress is not done with food stamps this year. Attempts to cut SNAP costs and eligibility will shift to the farm bill in coming weeks, said lawmakers on Tuesday.
Canada cautions on ‘Product of USA’ regulation
Canada and the United States are a global example of cross-border trade in food and agriculture products, forecast to exceed $65 billion this year. But Arun Alexander, Canada's deputy ambassador in Washington, said Tuesday "we are concerned about the real world consequences" of changing the rules on the voluntary "Product of USA" label.
Think tank says GOP expansion of SNAP time limit affects 1 million people
GOP senators eye climate bill funding as way to fatten farm bill accounts
Farm-state senators will try to move $37 billion into the farm bill that originally was earmarked for a handful of USDA activities, including climate mitigation, in the climate, health and tax law last summer, said a Senate Agriculture Committee senior staffer on Monday.
White House creates Office of Environmental Justice
On Earth Day, President Biden signed an executive order making environmental justice — the fair treatment of all people in the development and enforcement of environmental policies — part of the everyday work of federal agencies.
G7 farm ministers: Expand Ukraine grain exports via the Black Sea
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on global food security, said Group of 7 agriculture ministers on Sunday in a communique that called for expansion of Ukrainian grain shipments via a the Black Sea Grain corridor that is exempt from attack.
Sustainable aviation fuel is among GOP targets in budget bill
House Republicans would eliminate several tax credits for the biofuels industry, including the $1.25-a-gallon credit for sustainable aviation fuel, in the budget bill that could be put to a vote next week. The package also would eliminate incentives created in the 2022 climate, health, and tax bill for biomass-based diesel fuel and second-generation biofuels.
Farmers face sharply higher interest rates on loans
The financial outlook for many farmers is favorable, thanks to high commodity prices, but higher interest rates are an ongoing concern, according to ag bankers surveyed by the Federal Reserve. Interest rates on loans to farmers were 3.5 to 4.5 percentage points higher in the opening months of this year than they were at the end of 2021.
Farm bill chair Thompson supports cuts in food stamps
House Republican leaders unveiled a 320-page bill that would cut federal spending by $130 billion in the new fiscal year, including wider application of a 90-day limit on SNAP benefits to people working less than 20 hours a week. Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson said the leadership’s bill “is a sensible proposal” to rein in federal spending.
Carbon pipelines’ fate still uncertain in Iowa
An Iowa House bill that would restrict the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines in the state is effectively dead until the next session, in 2024, after the Senate late last month failed to advance it ahead of a legislative deadline. That leaves the issue for now with the Iowa Utilities Board, which can rule on eminent domain requests.
Farm-state lawmakers prod EPA chief on biofuels and WOTUS
The Biden administration is turning a cold shoulder to biofuels and rural America by encouraging the use of electric vehicles, said farm-state Republicans during a complaint-filled House hearing with EPA administrator Michael Regan on Wednesday. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon pointed to the so-called WOTUS rule on wetlands protections and declared, “Any goodwill the administration has built with farmers and ranchers is gone.”
Biden prevails in override vote on water and wetlands rule
A Republican-led attempt to overrule President Biden on clean water regulation failed in the House on Tuesday on a 227-196 roll call that fell well short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. As a result, the administration's "waters of the United States" rule remains on the books, although under challenge in federal court.