EPA renews approval of paraquat, including aerial application
USDA puts $15 million into drought relief for Klamath basin farmers
Heartland embraces precision agriculture practices
Half of the farmers in the biggest corn, soybean, and wheat states employ precision agriculture in their operations — from GPS guidance of tractors and combines to deploying drones to scout fields or monitor livestock — twice the national average, said a USDA report on computer usage on Wednesday. Far more farms have a cellular internet connection than broadband; 18 percent have no internet access at all.
EPA to ban agricultural use of chlorpyrifos
Ending 14 years of regulatory and court battles, the EPA announced on Wednesday that it would ban agricultural use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to learning disorders and can cause nausea, dizziness, and confusion. Regulators ended residential use of the pesticide, which works by attacking the nervous systems of insects, two decades ago.
Senate approves first Biden-era executive at USDA
On a voice vote, the Senate confirmed agricultural law expert Janie Hipp, who promised to be "a big voice at the interdepartmental table" in dealing with cattle prices and biofuels, as USDA general counsel. She was the first of President Biden's nominees for top-tier executive posts at USDA to see a Senate vote, but action could be near on others.
Food insecurity grows by a third due to pandemic
Some 1.2 billion people do not get enough to eat to sustain a healthy and active lifestyle in 76 countries monitored by the USDA for food insecurity, an increase of 291 million people, or 32 percent, caused by the pandemic. "The economies of the countries ... sharply contracted in 2020 due to the widespread pandemic, resulting lockdowns and other controls impacting business activity, employment and incomes," said the annual International Food Security Assessment.
Biofuel, farm groups ask for a second look at ban on summertime E15
The market for corn ethanol will be stunted unreasonably if sales of gasoline containing a higher blend of the homegrown fuel are banned during the summer, said corn growers and two biofuel groups on Tuesday. They asked all 16 judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review a July 2 decision against year-round sales of E15, gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol.
Three-fourths of U.S. wildland firefighters get a pay raise
More than 14,800 of the federal government's wildland firefighters will see a raise, to $15 an hour, in their paychecks next week, said the Interior and Agriculture departments on Tuesday. The additional pay will cost nearly $32 million.
Climate programs will be voluntary, incentive-based, says USDA nominee
The USDA's climate mitigation initiatives will be built on a simple rule: "If they don't work for producers and landowners, they're not going to work for the climate," said Robert Bonnie, the Biden nominee to run the USDA's crop subsidy and land stewardship programs, on Thursday. "Making sure we get that right is going to be a high priority."
SNAP increase of 40 cents a meal means $20 billion a year for public nutrition
The government will spend an additional $20 billion a year on food stamps, a 27-percent increase in SNAP benefits from pre-pandemic levels, after updating its figures on the cost of a healthy diet, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. Anti-hunger groups said the additional 40 cents a meal per person would help millions of Americans avoid hunger.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Koch Foods indicted as part of poultry price-fixing conspiracy
A federal grand jury in Denver indicted Koch Foods, the fifth-largest U.S. poultry processor, for taking part in a nationwide conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for poultry products, announced the Justice Department on Thursday.
Bayer asks Supreme Court to overturn Roundup verdict
As it promised last month, Bayer, the world's largest seed and agricultural chemicals company, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to overturn the $25-million award to Edwin Hardeman, a California man who blamed Roundup herbicide for giving him cancer. The appeal is a key element in Bayer's plan to resolve billions of dollars of claims against Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world.
USDA puts $67 million to new program for heirs’ property owners
The Department of Agriculture on Thursday will announce $67 million in funding for owners of heirs’ property, aiming to address a leading cause of land loss among Black and low-income farmers. The money will be distributed through the agency’s new Heirs’ Property Relending Program (HPRP) that Congress directed the USDA to create in the 2018 farm bill.
Biden administration announces largest increase ever in SNAP benefits
The Biden administration will increase SNAP benefits by an average of 25 percent on Oct. 1 — the largest increase in the history of food stamps — based on a reassessment of the cost of a nutritious diet. Analysts and anti-hunger advocates said on Sunday that the increase would improve the diets of millions of poor Americans.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
More competition in meatpacking or ‘bust them up,’ senators are told
U.S. fertilizer makers harmed by imports, says trade agency
There is a "reasonable indication" that domestic fertilizer manufacturers are being hurt by the alleged dumping of imported fertilizer in the United States, the U.S. International Trade Commission declared in a unanimous vote. As a result of the ITC vote, the Commerce Department will continue its investigation of imports of urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) from Russia and from Trinidad and Tobago.
Infrastructure package has $65 billion for broadband
The infrastructure agreement announced by a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday would expand broadband access to all Americans, according to the White House. An estimated 35 percent of rural families currently lack high-speed internet service.
House panel approves $8.5 billion disaster bill for agriculture
Responding to calamities that range from drought in the West to floods in the Southeast, the House Agriculture Committee approved an $8.5 billion disaster relief bill on Tuesday to cover farm and ranch losses in 2020 and this year. Producers would be eligible for up to $250,000 a year in aid.
Drought scorches U.S. corn, soy, and wheat crops
U.S. farmers will reap two of their largest-ever corn and soybean crops, the first step to assuring an abundant food supply, the government said on Thursday, despite drought damage in the northern Plains and upper Midwest. The wheat crop, meanwhile, will be the smallest in 19 years.