Climate-smart extension: Pointing to “a high level of interest,” the USDA allowed an additional four weeks for proposals of large-budget pilot projects for climate-smart commodities, and two additional weeks for small-budget projects. (Farm Service Agency)
Pork checkoff reduction: Delegates at the annual Pork Forum approved a reduction in the pork checkoff rate to 35 cents per $100 of value of live hogs, from the current 40 cents, effective Jan. 1. (National Pork Board)
Rural Covid drop: New cases of Covid-19 in rural America are down 90 percent from the peak in mid-January of the omicron variant. (Daily Yonder)
Kelp farming paperwork: Anyone wanting a permit to grow and harvest seaweed in Washington State has to deal with nine agencies and a tangle of red tape — and many other coastal states have a similar system. (Stateline)
DeLauro has Covid-19: House Appropriations chair Rosa DeLauro said she is working from her home in Connecticut while recovering from Covid-19, and “grateful for the protection that comes from being vaccinated and boosted.” (DeLauro)