Yield-cutting fungus spreads through Wheat Belt
Wheat stripe rust, a fungal disease that can reduce yields by 40 percent, has "swept through fields from Oklahoma to Kansas up into the Dakotas and east into the Great Lakes states," says DTN. The disease arrived as the winter wheat crop nears harvest; USDA will update its estimate of the crop on Friday.
Fast-spreading wheat rust diseases pose threat
The fungal diseases called wheat rust "have the capacity to turn a healthy-looking crop, only weeks away from harvest, into nothing more than a tangle of yellow leaves or black stems and shriveled grains at harvest," says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Wheat research generates large returns
Nearly half of the world's wheat-growing land is sown with varieties developed by an international network of plant scientists, or their national partners, says a report by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. Adoption of the new varieties has been particularly brisk since 2010, "which may be due to the introduction of rust-resistance varieties in recent years," says the study.
Q&A: Wheat researcher says dangerous pathogen spreading
David Hodson, senior scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), sat down with FERN editor-in-chief Sam Fromartz in Washington to discuss the re-emergence of rust disease, a virulent fungal pathogen that attacks wheat plants and causes devastating crop losses, especially in poorer countries.
One-month bird flu toll: 12 states, 1.9 million birds
Highly pathogenic avian influenza was identified in three more states — Missouri, Maryland and South Dakota — said the Agriculture Department. Since the first case was confirmed on Feb. 8 on a turkey farm in southern Indiana, HPAI has been found in 21 domestic flocks in 12 states.
China removes ban on imports of U.S. poultry
Poultry farmers could register $1 billion a year in sales to China now that Beijing has removed its “unwarranted ban on U.S. poultry and poultry products,” said U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday. Industry groups see the potential to double that total.
U.S. and South Korea agree to regionalize bird-flu bans
The United States and South Korea, the sixth-largest customer for U.S. farm exports, agreed to limit the trade impact of any outbreaks of deadly avian influenza in the future, announced the USDA.
U.S. says new NAFTA must end Canadian protection of dairy, poultry, eggs
At the top of the Trump administration's list of agricultural goals for the new NAFTA is elimination of Canadian tariffs on imports of U.S. dairy, poultry, and egg products — meaning a dismantling of the nation's supply-management system. Canada balked at that demand in the previous round of negotiation, and the current round of talks in Mexico City made little progress over the weekend.
U.S. asks Canada for more access to dairy, poultry and egg markets in NAFTA talks
Canadian officials say prospects of agreement on a new NAFTA by the end of the year are fading in the face of unacceptable U.S. demands, reports Canadian Press, with some analysts questioning if the true U.S. goal is a breakdown in negotiations. The chief U.S. negotiator told Bloomberg, "We made a request of Canada for improved access for dairy, poultry and eggs" over the weekend, the first time agricultural trade was discussed at the talks.
New step in Biden administration plan to limit old-growth logging
The government will protect millions of acres of old-growth forest on public lands from threats that include wildfire, insects, disease, and climate change with an updated management plan, said Biden administration officials on Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the U.S. Forest Service would employ “science-based management and conservation strategies that can be adapted to unique local circumstances on national forests.”
Proposal would open door to carbon storage on Forest Service land
The U.S. Forest Service proposed a change in regulations on Monday that would allow it to consider requests to inject carbon dioxide beneath the 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. Carbon sequestration is a key element in President Biden's goal of net-zero U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.
USDA launches Forest Corps alongside Biden’s Climate Corps
The White House announced the creation Wednesday of the American Climate Corps to train 20,000 young adults for work in clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience. At the same time, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Forest Corps, operating through the U.S. Forest Service, would be the first major interagency partnership with the Climate Corps.
USDA awards $1.1 billion to seed urban forestry projects
Groups across the United States will receive a total of $1.1 billion to plant and maintain trees in cities and towns to combat extreme heat and mitigate climate change, announced the Biden administration on Thursday. “We’ve never had the opportunity to provide resources at this level,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
South would be hit hardest by USDA crop subsidy update
Growers in the U.S. South could lose $1.4 billion in farm subsidies over the next decade if Congress decides to align payments more closely with the crops they produce, said an analysis by Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee. “A mandatory base acre update would create winners and losers ... and most certainly complicate efforts to pass a new farm bill,” said the analysis.
Biden administration to oversee new coronavirus payments to farmers
Considering the time needed to convert legislation into action, the Biden administration will oversee the payment of most or all of the $13 billion in agricultural aid that was included in the latest coronavirus package, said Agriculture Undersecretary Bill Northey on Tuesday. Still, there was a chance that some funds could flow before the end of January, or even before the change in the administration on Jan. 20, Northey said during a news conference.
Pandemic tops trade war in USDA payments to farmers
Huge federal payments will make up 36 percent of farm income this year
COP27: Food industry plan to end deforestation ‘falls short’
A plan to end deforestation in soy, palm oil, beef and cacao production by 2025 — released by 14 major agricultural commodity companies including Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and JBS — falls far short of what would be needed to meet global climate goals, environmental groups say. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Peatlands, not rainforests, hardest hit in Indonesia fires
Forest fires burned 1.64 million hectares across seven provinces of Indonesia this year, with peatlands accounting for 41 percent of the area lost to flames, said the Center for International Forestry Research on Monday. The figures, based on satellite data, show that only a portion of the the fires could be attributed to direct land-clearing work for palm oil plantations.
At global summit, farming and land ‘central pillars’ in climate solution
Global glut of palm oil adds to India’s health woes
Rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases have soared in India and other developing countries in recent years, coinciding with a flood of cheap palm oil that is used in everything from processed snacks and fast food to traditional foods like samosas and poori, according to the latest story from FERN, published with The Nation. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Biden announces $2 billion in USDA discrimination payments
The government has issued $2 billion in payments to more than 43,000 farmers who suffered discrimination when they applied for USDA farm loans in the past, said President Biden on Wednesday. More than half of the recipients were producers in Mississippi and Alabama, who received a combined $905.5 million.
Preliminary injunction against USDA debt relief for minority farmers
Vilsack calls out farmers suing to block debt relief for minority farmers
Lawsuits to block $4 billion in loan forgiveness for minority farmers show a lack of historical awareness, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the BIO online convention on Wednesday. "It's a wonder where those farmers were over the last 100 years, when their Black counterparts were being discriminated against and didn't hear a peep from white farmers about how unfortunate that circumstance was."
Bills would disclose race, gender of farm subsidy recipients
The USDA would be obliged to disclose the race and gender of farm subsidy recipients as well as how much money they received under companion bills filed by two Black members of the House and Senate Agriculture committees on Wednesday.
Vegetarian diet shapes human genome and risk for disease
Cornell University scientists found "tantalizing evidence" that generations of a vegetarian diet led to a mutation in the human genome that may make people "more susceptible to inflammation, and by association, increase risk of heart disease and colon cancer," says the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
More omega-3 acids in organic meat and milk
Two meta-analyses of research on organic milk and meat say the products contain 50 percent more omega-3 fatty acids than conventionally produced meat and milk, reports the New York Times. "However, the question of whether these differences are likely to translate to better health in people who eat organic meat and drink organic milk is sharply disputed."
Smaller amounts of omega-3 acid in farmed salmon
Farmed salmon "may contain as little as half the amount of omega-3s than it did a decade ago," says a Civil Eats story that also appears at Time.
A novel approach to deforestation may also offer a pandemic safety net
A novel conservation group in western Borneo offers healthcare services and training in sustainable farming to curb illegal logging. In the process, the group may have come up with a blueprint to stop diseases from making the deadly leap between wildlife and people, Brian Barth writes in FERN's latest story produced with Popular Science. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Selective breeding of tilapia can reduce need for antibiotics
Work by two USDA molecular biologists shows that tilapia, a commonly consumed food fish in the United States, can be selectively bred for resistance to two types of streptococcosis bacteria. Fish farmers frequently turn to antibiotics to fight diseases such as strep in farm-raised tilapia.
Climate change, linking abnormal weather and abnormal illness
An epidemic of West Nile virus, spread by mosquitos, that killed 19 people and hospitalized 216 in Dallas in 2012, "might seem like random bad luck," says the New York Times Magazine, the unlikely result of a mild winter, warm spring and the heaviest early rainfall in 10 years. But Robert Haley, director of epidemiology at Texas Southwestern Medical Center, "doesn't think of it as an accident. He considers it a warning."
Poultry breeder culls Alabama flock that might have bird flu
After tests suggested bird flu in a poultry flock in northern Alabama, the poultry breeding company Aviagen culled the flock and removed from its production line eggs that originated from the farm, says Reuters. The flock was one of three potential outbreaks of bird flu and followed discoveries across the state line in Tennessee a week earlier.
USDA announces $772.6 million in rural infrastructure awards
During a town hall meeting in North Carolina on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $772.6 million in funding for projects promoting rural growth, including high-speed internet, clean water, and community facilities. The bulk of the money, $664.2 million, would go to rural water and sewer projects across the country.
EPA: Nutrient runoff is widespread waterway stressor
Four of every 10 miles of U.S. rivers and streams are in poor condition because of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff, said the EPA in its latest National Rivers and Streams Assessment.
House will try to override Biden on protecting wetlands
Presidents almost always prevail when they veto legislation; there have been only 20 overrides in the 45 years since Gerald Ford left office. So Republican leaders in Congress face an uphill struggle against the Biden administration's "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) regulation. Nonetheless, the House could vote as early as Tuesday in a rematch with President Biden.
EPA ‘forever chemicals’ regs could cost communities billions, experts say
The Environmental Protection Agency is due to announce enforceable regulations on the amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of thousands of chemicals collectively known as PFAS, allowed in drinking water. Those rules, which could be announced as early as today, could end up costing communities around the country nearly $40 billion to implement, according to the Associated Press.
Why America’s food-security crisis is also a water-security crisis
An estimated 2.2 million people in America are water-insecure, and that's almost certainly a huge undercount, explains Lela Nargi in FERN's latest story. Yet the issue "is not even on most public health professionals’ radar, although recent water disasters in Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi, are starting to change that."
Enormous potential in Cuba, ag trade is not a one-way street
World Food Prize laureate Pedro Sanchez, a soils scientist, says Cuba "could be a very good market" for U.S. food companies, but adds that "it's not a one-way situation." In an interview with UC Food Observer, Sanchez said, "America has so much to learn from Cuba. Some of the agricultural techniques used in Cuba may benefit our food system."
Big in some regions, ag is small potatoes in much of U.S.
Agriculture is a major industry in the Plains, Midwest, South and California, USDA data show, and the obverse holds too - in many congressional districts, farming and ranching is a minor economic factor. USDA's 2012 Census of Agriculture says there are fewer than 5,000 farms in 57 percent of the 435 congressional districts. In 62 percent of congressional districts, the market value of agricultural products sold was less than $500 million; in 77 percent of them, sales were less than $1 billion.
Organic vs conventional yield gap is smaller than thought
A meta-analysis of 115 studies by UC-Berkeley researchers finds the yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture is smaller than thought, around 19 percent.