The farmworkers in California’s fire evacuation zones
In 2020, as thousands of residents fled Sonoma County because of wildfires, hundreds of farmworkers stayed behind and continued working under a little-known government "ag pass" program, Teresa Cotsirilos reports in FERN's latest story, produced in collaboration with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and the radio show World Affairs. <strong>No Paywall</strong>
‘Significant progress’ in Covid-19 vaccinations at USDA
USDA "critical services" will not be disrupted by the Biden administration mandate for federal workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19, said the department on Monday as the deadline passed for inoculations. Farm and livestock groups said earlier this month the mandate might leave the USDA short of meat inspectors or staff at its local offices.
Senate bill would ban broad swath of pesticides
The United States would ban the use of two classes of insecticides—organophosphates and neonicotinoids—and the herbicide paraquat under a bill unveiled by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey on Monday. More than 100 pesticides would be affected, including chlorpyrifos, recently slated by the EPA for termination as an agricultural aid.
Danger signs for 2023 farm bill in partisan rancor on Capitol Hill
Congress traditionally enacts the farm policy bills covering the gamut from crop subsidies to food stamps at the urging of a coalition of farm, conservation and anti-hunger groups. A former USDA official said the 2023 farm bill could be in peril if there is a repetition of the political turbulence that temporarily derailed the omnibus legislation twice in the eight years.
Agriculture can be climate leader with ‘build back’ funding, says Vilsack
The farm sector would gain $27 billion for climate mitigation, including payments for planting cover crops, from the social welfare and climate change bill passed by the House, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Agriculture can lead the way in the fight on climate with climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices that sequester carbon, reduce emissions and create new and better market opportunities for producers."
Thanksgiving dinner will cost more. But how much?
Americans can cook the classic Thanksgiving meal featuring roast turkey and pumpkin pie for $5.33 a person, according to an informal survey of supermarket prices. But while all sides agree that ingredients for the meal will cost more this year, there is a wide range of viewpoints on how large the increase will be.
Biden administration ditches Trump water rule
The Biden administration said on Thursday it would re-establish the "waters of the United States" rule that was in place before 2015, a step that would repeal a narrow regulation written during the Trump era. The National Wildlife Federation said that "many streams and wetlands nationwide will regain undisputed protections."
Contract livestock producers get $270 million in pandemic aid
Payments totaling $270 million are being made to so-called contract producers to offset revenue lost to the pandemic in 2020, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. Previous aid programs were directed at the owners of livestock but not the farmers who produced hogs, poultry, and eggs under contract to them.
Europe’s butterflies are vanishing along with small farms
Across Europe, butterfly populations are undergoing huge declines, with grassland butterfly abundance dropping by 39 percent between 1990 and 2017. Spain's Catalonia region offers an extreme example of this continent-wide wave of biodiversity loss: Over the past 25 years, populations of the most common grassland species have declined here by 71 percent, reports FERN's latest story, produced with National Geographic. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Nominee would build ‘civil rights culture’ at USDA
Declaring "there is no place at USDA for discrimination," University of Michigan law professor Margo Schlanger told senators on Wednesday that she would build "a civil rights culture" at the USDA if confirmed as assistant secretary for civil rights. At the same confirmation hearing, Chavonda Jacobs-Young said she would be an advocate for advanced technology, such as gene editing, if confirmed as undersecretary for research.
Covid-19 is worst in persistently poor rural counties
Throughout the pandemic, the highest Covid-19 case rates and the lowest vaccination rates in the country have been found in persistently poor rural counties, the USDA said Wednesday in its annual Rural America at a Glance report. Those counties have also had low unemployment rates, suggesting residents continued to work despite the risk of infection by the coronavirus, said the report.
Biofuel groups push for ‘strong’ ethanol mandate, citing climate and gas prices
Senate confirms Bonnie to run USDA farm subsidy and land stewardship programs
On a bipartisan 76-19 roll call, the Senate confirmed Robert Bonnie, who was part of a think-tank proposal for a "carbon bank" at USDA to slow global warming, as agriculture undersecretary for farm production and conservation on Tuesday. Bonnie has served as USDA climate adviser since January.
Brazil’s Amazon beef plan will ‘legalize deforestation’
Infrastructure package is ‘monumental step forward,’ says Biden
America will have the best roads, bridges, ports and airports in the world when the new $1.2 trillion infrastructure law is fully implemented, said President Biden at a bill-signing ceremony on Monday. And he will be on the road to promote the benefits of the bipartisan package, beginning with a trip to New Hampshire to visit a structurally unsafe bridge that has been on the state's "red list" since 2013.
California studies what a carbon-neutral future means for its lands
In a carbon-neutral future, California’s farmers could plant water-conserving crops enriched by composting, the result of widespread carbon farming. Socially disadvantaged farmers could become more empowered. Farmworkers could be healthier and better paid. An ambitious report from the California Natural Resource Agency proposes major potential changes to the state’s agricultural sector in response to climate change. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Smithfield to develop preparedness plan for infectious diseases
The largest U.S. pork processor, Smithfield Foods, will pay a $13,494 penalty for failing to protect workers from the coronavirus at its South Dakota slaughter plant in 2020 and will develop a company-wide preparedness plan against infectious diseases, said the Labor Department on Monday. Smithfield closed the plant in Sioux Falls for 25 days during a Covid-19 outbreak that infected 1,294 workers and killed four of them.
‘Father’ of organic ag law, Pat Leahy, to retire from Senate
One of the last of the "Watergate babies" elected to Congress in 1974, Vermont Sen. Pat Leahy said on Monday he will retire next year after eight terms in the Senate that included stints as chairman of its Appropriations, Agriculture and Judiciary committees. Leahy shepherded passage of the national organic standards law in 1990 and oversaw expansion of SNAP and the school lunch program.
Biden taps long-time USDA scientist to oversee food safety
Jose Esteban, the chief scientist at USDA's meat inspection agency, is President Biden's choice to become agriculture undersecretary for food safety, announced the White House. If confirmed by the Senate, Esteban would be the USDA leader on issues ranging from prevention of food-borne illness to regulation of cell-cultured meat, now approaching commercialization.
Agriculture emerges from COP26 with focus on methane and innovation
The USDA would work with farmers to reduce agricultural emissions of methane, said the White House in describing the domestic impact of the UN climate summit in Scotland. The United States also is a leader in the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate, designed to accelerate breakthroughs in climate-smart farm production.