Double WIC benefits: As part of a revision of public nutrition programs, the USDA should double the value of food packages in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, now around $38 per person per month, said an advocacy group. (National WIC Association)
More for working lands: Congress should triple or quintuple funding for USDA land stewardship programs, to nearly $20 billion a year, as the quickest way to increase conservation adoption by farmers and ranchers; every USDA agency should also make climate-smart agricultural practices a core goal, said the Climate, Food and Ag Dialogue. (AGree)
California funds $100 million for marijuana: State legislators approved $100 million to bolster California’s legal marijuana industry five years after voters approved recreational marijuana but the industry, competing with illicit growers, says the aid may be insufficient. (Los Angeles Times)
Rural job grants: The new Rural Innovation Stronger Economy program will provide grants of up to $2 million apiece to consortiums of local governments, investors, industry and educational institutions to help rural communities create well-paying jobs and new business opportunities in high-growth fields. (USDA)
CLEAR30 signup nationwide: Landowners with expiring 10- or 15-year Conservation Reserve contacts have the option through Aug. 6 to switch to a 30-year contract with the Clean Lakes, Estuaries and Rivers initiative, also called CLEAR30, which is now available nationwide. (USDA)
Haaland backs restoration: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland advised President Biden to restore three national monuments – Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah and the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts in the Atlantic Ocean – to their original size, reversing a decision by President Trump to shrink them. (New York Times)