Senate ping-pongs school nutrition bill back to House for final approval
The House and Senate passed different versions of a slimmed-down $3 billion extension of school nutrition waivers within hours of each other on Thursday, leaving to the House a final vote on the legislation on Friday. “I look forward to the president signing this into law,” said Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow.
Biden signs school nutrition extension, averting potential ‘summer hunger crisis’
Before leaving Washington for summit meetings in Europe, President Biden signed into law a $3-billion extension of school nutrition waivers. Proponents said the extension would prevent "a summer hunger crisis" and called for Congress to expand the school food program, rather than limit access.
Study: Cut beef, boost whole grains to make school lunches more sustainable
Reducing the amount of meat served in school lunches and increasing servings of whole grains could help reduce the National School Lunch Program’s environmental impact while expanding the market for foods produced in more ecologically friendly ways, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.
Link between commodity prices and inflation is weak
There is little correlation between commodity prices and inflation rates, said a group of agricultural economists writing at the farmdoc daily blog. "Current high inflation rates do not necessarily signal a continuing period of high commodity prices," they said, pointing to "plateaus" when corn and soybeans cluster around long-term price averages.
House committee votes to ban sale of U.S. farmland to Russia and China
Companies from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran would be barred from purchasing U.S. agricultural land under language approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
U.S. creates pollinator conservation center
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will establish a Pollinator Conservation Center focusing on the decline of pollinating species, including the monarch butterfly, announced Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Thursday.
Senate committee approves two livestock marketing reform bills
The Senate Agriculture Committee quickly approved legislation on Wednesday that would require meatpackers to buy a portion of their slaughter cattle on the cash market — a step intended to ensure fair prices — and create a USDA special investigator to enforce fair-play rules in the highly concentrated meat industry.
As bird flu outbreaks slow, USDA urges readiness for autumn
While this year’s outbreaks of bird flu, the worst in seven years, are following the usual pattern of dissipating during hot weather, it’s too early to declare the threat over, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
Farm payments doubled during subsidy flood, says EWG
The government paid a record $41.6 billion in a variety of subsidies to farmers in 2020, double the amount they received in 2018, when the Trump-era cash gusher began flowing, said the Environmental Working Group on Wednesday.
Supreme Court refuses Bayer’s Roundup appeal, but another pending
The Supreme Court disposed of one Roundup appeal by Bayer on Tuesday but it will not be the final word in Bayer's attempts to shield itself from lawsuits alleging its weedkiller causes cancer. Another Bayer appeal was pending before the Supreme Court and the company suggested a case being heard by an appeals court in Atlanta could be the third.
Pay hike of up to 50 percent for fighting wildfires
In a long-expected step, the White House announced hefty increases in pay for wildland firefighters on Tuesday, amounting to an additional $600 million over two years, to confront increasingly destructive fires. The Forest Service has acknowledged difficulty in hiring enough firefighters this year; some state and local agencies offer much higher pay.
Lawmakers agree on slimmed-down version of school nutrition waivers
Congress would give schools an additional $3 billion to help them run meal programs this summer and during the next school year under an agreement announced by key lawmakers on Tuesday. The agreement would scale back the number of children who receive meals for free — at present, all of them do — and set reimbursement rates for meals at higher rates so schools can cope with rising food prices.
Appeals court tells EPA to consider anew if glyphosate is carcinogenic
In a ruling hailed as a victory for farmworkers and monarch butterflies, the U.S. appellate court in San Francisco ruled the EPA lacked the evidence in 2020 to conclude that glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, does not cause cancer and ordered the agency to take a new look at the risks to humans. The three-judge panel also said the EPA violated federal law by failing to consult with wildlife agencies on how to limit the impact of the herbicide on threatened and endangered species.
Middling support for helping farmers adopt sustainable practices
Americans agree that federal aid to farmers during a disaster is important. They are less likely to support federal assistance to help producers adopt sustainable farming practices, according to the quarterly Gardiner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey.
House votes to create USDA meat investigator
Over the objections of Republicans, the House passed legislation on Thursday to create a USDA special investigator to enforce fair-play rules in the highly concentrated meatpacking industry. It was the most significant livestock marketing reform to advance in Congress this session.
Advocates say a hungry summer looms if Congress can’t extend school meal waivers
Summer is always the hungry season for America’s children — when school is not in session, many students don’t get enough to eat. But anti-hunger groups are warning this summer could be worse than usual, since many schools have been forced to scale back or eliminate their summer meals programs because the waivers that vastly expanded access to school food during the pandemic are set to expire on June 30, unless Congress takes action.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Biden signs ocean shipping reforms into law
Ocean carriers will be barred from unreasonably refusing to load U.S. cargo, a practice that blossomed during pandemic-related port congestion, under a bill signed into law by President Biden on Thursday.
Neonicotinoid insecticides have broad reach, says EPA
Three widely used neonicotinoids are likely to adversely affect, in at least some way, most of the threatened and endangered species in the country, said the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday.
DeLauro: We’re working on extending school nutrition waivers
While Republicans objected to the cost of public nutrition programs such as SNAP, the leader of the House Appropriations Committee said on Wednesday that “we will be doing something about extending the waivers of the school meals programs.” The waivers, a response to the pandemic that allows free meals for all public school students, are due to expire on June 30.
One in six needed food assistance in 2021, says Feeding America report
More than 53 million Americans turned to food banks, pantries, and meal programs last year, one-third more than before the pandemic, said Feeding America, a network of food banks and hunger relief groups, on Wednesday.