Revise GMO corn decree or face U.S. challenge, Vilsack warns Mexico
Ahead of a visit by Mexican government leaders, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday that the Biden administration was ready to challenge Mexico under North American trade rules unless it “rectifies” a presidential decree that would ban imports of genetically modified corn at the start of 2024.
California’s water scarcity upends politics of powerful farm district
Food-system reform is crucial, but controversial, piece of biodiversity deal
At the UN Biodiversity Conference, currently underway in Montreal, delegates from 196 countries are trying to craft a plan to reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030. And food production, which is responsible for 70 percent of terrestrial biodiversity loss and half of the loss of freshwater species, is proving to be a key but contentious variable in fulfilling that goal. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Farm bill should protect, maybe strengthen, crop insurance, says Thompson
The incoming Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee said the new farm bill should protect the federally subsidized crop insurance program and "maybe we need to see about strengthening it."
Last-chance farmworker reform bill is proposed
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet announced a new farmworker reform bill on Thursday that would give legal status to undocumented farmworkers and reform the H-2A guestworker program, including, for the first time, visas for year-round agricultural work.
Smallest Florida orange crop in 85 years
Hurricanes Ian and Nicole pummeled Florida's orange groves this fall, resulting in the smallest orange crop since the 1937-38 season, according to a USDA estimate.
CO2 pipeline company plays hardball as Iowa counties fight back
In Iowa, deep-pocketed corporations are hoping to build carbon dioxide pipelines across hundreds of miles of farmland. But county governments are putting the brakes on development by passing ordinances to protect people in the pipelines' path. In response, Summit Carbon Solutions, the company farthest along in the state's permitting process, is punching back, filing federal lawsuits to overturn the ordinances and forcing counties to spend scarce taxpayer dollars to defend themselves. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Why universal free school meals matter
For the first two years of the pandemic, there was such a thing as a free lunch — for public school kids, at least. To blunt a spike in hunger caused by job losses and school closures, the federal government made school meals free, even available as ‘grab and go,’ for virtually all children. But Republicans blocked a renewal of the program last spring, accusing Democrats of exploiting emergency measures to enact lasting changes. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Critic of Biden climate program will head House Agriculture Committee
With a farm bill fight brewing over President Biden’s climate agenda, House Republican leaders named Pennsylvania Rep. Glenn Thompson chair of the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday. Thompson, who wants to expand farm supports, has accused the administration of acting as “a lone wolf” in setting up its $3.5 billion proposal to develop climate-smart commodities.
Spending on climate-smart projects hard to track, says UCS
Meat, dairy, and livestock are likely to get a larger share of the funding than other commodities in the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, though it’s hard to track spending on the pilot projects, said a Union of Concerned Scientists blog on Thursday.
World faces ‘mass climate deaths from starvation,’ says anti-hunger leader
By disrupting food production, climate change threatens “death from starvation on a scale that no living human today has ever witnessed,” said the head of an anti-hunger foundation during a panel discussion of malnutrition on Wednesday.
Study: Lake Erie fish safe to eat, but still suffering
A new study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment shows that while Lake Erie fish fillets are safe to eat, the fish themselves may not be doing so well.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
With cover crops, the hype far outpaces the science
Cover crops have gained elite status as a way for farmers to fight climate change. But a closer look at the growing body of research raises questions about their ability to lower agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Few farmers adjust operations because of higher energy prices
Higher input costs are by far the No. 1 concern among farmers, but only a minority of them have altered their operations because of rising energy prices, according to a Purdue University poll of large-scale operators.
Put more emphasis on food regulation at FDA, says expert panel
The Biden administration should re-structure the FDA to give more prominence to federal regulation of the food supply with steps that could include appointing a deputy commissioner for food or even splitting the FDA into two entities, one dealing with drugs and the other overseeing food, said a panel of experts on Tuesday. "The current organizational structure lacks a clear leader and decision-maker," said the panel's report.
As UN Biodiversity Conference opens, a plea for ‘a peace pact’ with nature
With one million species at risk of extinction, policymakers, scientists and activists gathered for the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal to hammer out a plan to end and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Agriculture — considered the driver of 70 percent of all biodiversity loss — is key to the negotiations, which will center on conserving land and water, reducing pollution, redirecting subsidies that enable environmental harm, and curtailing unsustainable production and consumption. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Study: In California’s Central Valley, repurposing farmland could save communities
As the water crisis in California’s Central Valley intensifies, farmers are fallowing fields, slashing jobs and hemorrhaging money. But according to a study released this week, some rural towns might be better off abandoning agriculture entirely and repurposing farmland to create better-paying jobs, ease water usage, decrease pollution and preserve landowners’ revenue streams.
‘Enhance the farm safety net,’ says top Republican on House Ag
Congress should strengthen the crop insurance and farm subsidy programs so producers don't have to rely on stop-gap federal aid to survive trade wars, natural disasters and the pandemic, the Republican leader on the House Agriculture Committee said on Tuesday. Other speakers during a webcast discussion said global warming requires the 2023 farm bill to be the most climate-friendly bill ever.
‘Precision nutrition’ to combat diet-related diseases, says Vilsack
The USDA said it would accelerate research into diet-related diseases on Monday as part of President Biden's "Cancer Moonshot" to reduce the cancer death rate by at least half over the next 25 years. "Precision nutrition," to fine-tune individual diets for health, will be one of the areas of study, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Prop 12 enforcement will wait in California for Supreme Court ruling
A California judge has extended his ban on enforcement of voter-approved Proposition 12 until July 1, to allow time for the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the animal welfare law. Justices heard arguments on the farm-group challenge of Prop 12 in October and a decision is expected by the end of June.