Carbon pipeline regulation, trophy hunting, and a CAFO ban are on November ballot
A "voter veto" of a state law regulating carbon dioxide pipelines is on the general election ballot in South Dakota and residents of Sonoma County, in California's wine country, will decide on Nov. 5 whether to ban large-scale livestock farms. The handful of state and local referendums across the nation that involve agriculture also include a vote whether to ban slaughterhouses in Denver.
Report: An ‘interventionist’ approach is needed to decarbonize agriculture
Congress should double agricultural research funding, now running at $4 billion a year, and direct the Agriculture Department to take a "more interventionist" role in decarbonizing agriculture, said a California think tank on Monday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
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.
DOE official: Carbon capture is key element in U.S. net-zero goal
Now an infant industry, carbon capture will play a significant role in achieving President Biden’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, said administration officials on Thursday. Senators from coal and gas states said the administration, after including incentives in the 2022 climate law, should unleash carbon capture projects.
As COP26 nears, activists say agriculture should be a bigger part of the agenda
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which starts Oct. 31 in Glasgow, has been billed as a “turning point” for humanity and the “last, best chance” of averting climate disaster. And given the growing awareness of the central role that food and agricultural systems play in climate change—both as a cause and as part of a potential solution—many activists say that the sector is not as big a piece of the COP26 agenda as it should be. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Biden seeks 50 percent cut in U.S. emissions, sees farming as carbon frontier
By deploying clean technology, the United States can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by the end of this decade, said President Biden at an Earth Day summit intended to spark global action on climate change. "That's where we're headed as a nation, and that's what we can do if we take action to build an economy that's not only more prosperous but healthier, fairer, and cleaner for the planet."
Land set-aside is part of climate progress, not greenwashing, says Vilsack
The Biden administration is launching a portfolio of projects to reach its goal of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases on the farm, including a new focus on climate mitigation by the Conservation Reserve Program, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. During an Earth Day teleconference, he rejected the suggestion that carbon sequestration in the CRP was a form of greenwashing. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
USDA harnesses Conservation Reserve for climate mitigation
The USDA said it will offer higher rental rates and larger incentive payments to landowners who agree to idle environmentally fragile farmland and introduced a new payment for climate-smart practices to slow climate change. The expansions would boost spending on the Conservation Reserve by $300 million or more annually, said the White House on Wednesday.
G7 farm ministers: Expand Ukraine grain exports via the Black Sea
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on global food security, said Group of 7 agriculture ministers on Sunday in a communique that called for expansion of Ukrainian grain shipments via a the Black Sea Grain corridor that is exempt from attack.
G7 nations pledge additional $4.5 billion for food aid
Up to 323 million people worldwide are at risk of starvation due to the pandemic, climate change, global economic woes and warfare including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said the leaders of the world's leading democracies. The Group of Seven committed an additional $4.5 billion on Tuesday "to protect the most vulnerable from hunger and malnutrition."
With eye on Ukraine, G7 ag ministers warn nations to avoid food hoarding and profiteering
To mitigate the impact of war in Ukraine on global food supplies, the G7's agriculture ministers called on all nations to keep their trade channels open and to guard against unjustified limits on exports. "We will not tolerate artificially inflated prices that could diminish the availability of food and agricultural products," said the ministers in a statement after a special meeting convened via the internet.
Fix ARC problems by using crop insurance data, say Farm Belt senators
Two members of the Senate Agriculture Committee filed a bill to require the USDA to use crop insurance data as its first choice in deciding whether farmers will get an Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) subsidy. Most corn, soybean and wheat growers are enrolled in the insurance-like ARC program but there are recurring complaints of wide variation in payment rates among adjoining counties.
Big baseline possible for crop subsidies in new farm bill
Farm-state lawmakers could have a "quite large" baseline for crop subsidies, "even approaching $100 billion" over a decade, when they write the 2018 farm bill, says economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University. In a blog, Zulaug rebuts speculation, based on the decline in pay-out for the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) subsidy, that the House and Senate Agriculture Committees could have a small amount of money available to confront an era of low commodity prices.
Ag outlook dour, wrong time to cut farm supports
In preview of issues for the 2018 farm bill, the leaders of the two largest U.S. farm groups argued against cuts in farm subsidies as the agricultural sector endures years of low commodity prices and income that is a fraction of the record set in 2013 at the end of a seven-year boom.
Payments to vary widely among counties in new ARC program
Subsidy payments under the new Agricultural Risk Coverage program will vary by as much as $90 an acre among counties in the same state for 2014 crops, said economists Carl Zulauf of Ohio State and Gary Schnitkey of U-Illinois.
Rice is likeliest crop to trigger U.S. subsidy this year
Commodity prices are down sharply this year for major crops yet wheat and soybeans may not trigger subsidies under the new farm law, says economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University in a blog.
Farmers say they will plant fewer acres this year
Aside from planning a 4-percent expansion of corn area, U.S. farmers aren't enthusiastic about spring planting. With little improvement expected in commodity prices, growers say they will plant fewer acres of soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, sorghum and oats than in 2018, and they'll stand pat on barley.
More signs of more corn
The chemical and agricultural company DuPont says it expects "a slight year-over-year uptick" in corn plantings in the United States, the world's largest grower, and Brazil, the No. 3 grower behind China.
Did farmers plant fewer corn and soy acres than thought?
Analysts are chewing over the arcane Crop Acreage Data page posted by USDA in hopes of a clearer picture of this fall's corn and soybean harvests.
Pope Francis: ‘Drastic’ steps needed to mitigate climate change
The world may be near the breaking point as global warming inflicts drought, intense storms, and heat waves on more and more people, said Pope Francis on Wednesday, calling for a worldwide commitment to reining in human-caused damage to the environment.
Ag lender Rabobank joins UNEP in $1-billion sustainable-agriculture initiative
In conjunction with World Food Day, agricultural lender Rabobank announced a global program, "Kickstart Food," to encourage sustainable food production, beginning with a $1-billion "facility" for land restoration and forest protection. The facility was launched in partnership with the UN Environment Program.
Pope calls for ‘courageous actions’ against climate change
In a speech to a joint meeting of Congress, Pope Francis said the United States must play an important role in mitigating climate change.
Encyclical discusses benefits, risks of agro biotech
In his encyclical on the environment, Pope Francis devotes a section to genetic modification (GM) of crops and livestock. "The risks involved are not always due to the techniques used, but rather to their improper or excessive application," says the pope.
Drought worsens in wheat-growing Plains
The long-running drought that covers more than half of the continental United States — mostly west of the Mississippi — worsened in the central and southern Plains last week, the heart of U.S. winter wheat production, said the government's Drought Monitor on Thursday. In Kansas, the No. 1 winter wheat state, 31 percent of the crop was rated as being in poor or very poor condition.
Trump, dropping Mexico threat, says ‘very close’ to China deal
U.S. and Chinese negotiators may be within four weeks of resolving the Sino-U.S. trade war, said President Trump on Thursday. Trump said the nations are working on a comprehensive agreement. “And whether it’s our farmers or our technology people, all of them will be really happy.”
Trade war could slow Chinese soy imports for years, says USDA
China will remain the world’s largest soybean importer in coming years even if the trade war with the United States is not settled, but it won’t be buying as much of the oilseed, said USDA analysts on Wednesday.
With trade war, sorghum stockpile set to hit a 13-year high
A year ago, half of the U.S. sorghum crop was exported. This year, only a quarter of it is headed overseas due to the U.S.-China trade war, which means the sorghum stockpile will double by the time the new crop is ready for harvest this summer. USDA's monthly Grains: World Markets and Trade report says the sorghum inventory will be the largest in 13 years.
Climate change is forcing farmers to migrate from Central America
In Central America's Dry Corridor, a historically drought-prone region that stretches from Mexico to Panama and is home to 10.5 million people, climate change is producing longer and more frequent dry spells and forcing a growing number of farmers to attempt to migrate to the U.S., according to FERN's latest story, published with The Weather Channel. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
With or without El Niño, 2017 is at the top of the list for hottest years
According to NASA data, 2017 was the second-hottest year on record, or the hottest year without an El Niño weather pattern, which drives up temperatures in the short term.
Forest fires a leading factor in loss of tree cover worldwide
An area the size of New Zealand, some 29.7 million hectares (73.4 million acres), was stripped of tree cover during 2016, says data on Global Forest Watch, an increase of 51 percent from the previous year. "Forest fires seem to be a primary cause for this year's spike, including dramatic fire-related degradation in Brazil," wrote two World Resources Institute analysts in a blog.
The food chain is looking threadbare, say scientists studying dolphins
The food chain off the coast of California is starting too look shorter and less diverse thanks to environmental events like El Niño and potentially climate change, say scientists who tracked the diets of dolphins.
U.S. citrus harvest down 20 percent in one year
Citrus production has trended downward for years, but it dropped abruptly, by 20 percent, in the just-ended 2017/18 season, affected greatly by Hurricane Irma in Florida, said the USDA in its annual Citrus report.
Florida gets $340 million for hurricane-hit citrus growers
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a $340 million block grant to Florida on Tuesday to help citrus growers recover from Hurricane Irma, which hit the state just as the fruit was ready for harvest. The grant is part of $2.36 billion in disaster relief approved by Congress to help nine states that suffered hurricane or wildfire damage last year.
Forecast: Hard freeze in portions of Florida citrus belt
Hurricane Irma pummeled Florida’s citrus crop in September, and now a hard freeze is possible in the northeastern portion of the citrus belt, says weather consultancy Radiant Solutions.
House disaster bill includes aid to Florida growers — and a food stamp cut
The $81-billion disaster bill written by House Republicans includes $3.8 billion in disaster relief for farmers and ranchers, with Florida expected to get a large part of the money.
Did Hurricane Irma blow U.S. citrus crown into California?
The USDA cut its estimate of Florida’s orange crop for the second time in two months, raising the possibility that California will be the No. 1 orange grower in the country this season.
Democrats in Congress propose $10 billion in economic aid to farmers
With Congress due to adjourn in 10 days, Democrats proposed $10 billion in economic assistance to farmers nationwide to buffer the impact of lower commodity prices. Senior farm-state Republicans have said substantial aid is needed — $15 billion was mentioned on Wednesday — but House GOP leaders reportedly objected to the offset Democrats would use to pay for the aid.
Equipment sales falter as farm income slows, tariffs a concern, say regional Feds
Farm equipment sales are slowing alongside the downturn in farm income, creating a headwind to overall U.S. investment activity, said the Beige Book, a summary of economic conditions in Federal Reserve Bank districts. In discussing agriculture, the St. Louis Fed said some businesses were building inventory in anticipation of potential tariffs on imported goods.
Boozman calls for ‘significant’ farm aid this year
Congress should authorize "significant economic assistance" to farmers before the end of this year to offset lower commodity prices and high production costs, said the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday. "Federal assistance must support agricultural producers facing market losses and it needs to happen quickly," said Arkansas Sen. John Boozman with Congress scheduled to adjourn in three weeks.
Farmers need ‘significant’ federal help to survive drop in income, say senators
“One in five farmers could be pushed out of business by the sharp drop in farm income this year,” said Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at a Senate hearing on disaster aid, and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman asked how rural America could survive the combination of high production costs and lower commodity prices without “significant help” from the government.
Land values rise while farm income shrinks in northern Plains
Continuing a four-year trend, land values rose during the growing season in the northern Plains, despite financial tightening in the farm sector, said ag bankers in a quarterly survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.