Vilsack says Republicans ‘just don’t have the votes’ for farm bill
The Republican-controlled House has not advanced a new farm bill because "they just don't have the votes" to pass a bill that is $33 billion over budget, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack over the weekend. Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow was more "practical," he said, by proposing a smaller increase in so-called reference prices and finding the money to pay for it.
Pennsylvania dairies put the notion of climate-smart milk to the test
The U.S. dairy industry is aiming to go greenhouse gas neutral by 2050. Researchers have many ideas to help get them there — from feed additives that minimize methane-filled cow burps to new timing for fertilizer applications. But there’s little data on how well many of these strategies work on actual dairies with varying environmental conditions. (No paywall)
Can $3 billion convince Black farmers to trust the USDA?
In FERN's latest piece, produced in partnership with NPR's Climate Desk, Amy Mayer scrutinizes the likelihood that USDA's climate-smart partnerships will meet its ambitious equity goals.
Can Biden’s climate-smart ag program live up to the $3-billion hype?
This spring, the Biden administration began allocating $3.1 billion to hundreds of agriculture organizations, corporations, universities, and nonprofits for climate-smart projects. As Gabriel Popkin writes in FERN’s latest story, published with Yale Environment 360, “The USDA estimates that the 141 funded projects will, collectively over the project’s five-year lifetime, eliminate or sequester the equivalent of 60 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, on par with removing more than 2.4 million gas-powered cars from the road over the same period.”
Vilsack is confident agriculture will be first to net-zero emissions
Climate change is a worldwide challenge, but it also offers the opportunity to boost farm income for those who adopt climate-smart practices, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at a food and agriculture conference on Wednesday. “I can guarantee you farmers will embrace this,” he said. “I am truly confident. I think agriculture gets to net-zero before most of the major industries.”
USDA climate funding targeted in debt-limit fight
The House Freedom Caucus called for the elimination of "billions (of dollars) of wasteful climate spending," — a category that would include $20 billion given to USDA conservation programs — as part of an agreement to raise the federal debt limit.
USDA awards $325 million to second round of climate-smart projects
The Biden administration will put $325 million into an additional 71 projects to develop climate-smart commodities and a money-making market for them, announced Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. The initiative is part of President Biden's goal to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and for American agriculture to be first in the world to achieve net-zero emissions.
House task force pushes for climate action in 2023 farm bill
A House task force on climate and agriculture, led by Democratic Reps. Chellie Pingree of Maine and Kim Schrier of Washington State, released a report Thursday recommending policies for the 2023 farm bill to make it as climate-friendly as possible.
COP27: Funding doubles climate and ag project, U.S. says
In one year, membership in the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate nearly quadrupled, while funding for the project doubled to $8 billion, said the Biden administration. AIM for climate, launched at COP26, intends to increase agricultural production and incomes worldwide, while adapting to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
USDA triples funding for climate-smart ag projects
Showered by "amazing" proposals, the Biden administration said it will put $3.5 billion — three times more than originally planned — into pilot projects to mitigate global warming and create markets for climate-smart commodities. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the demonstration projects would put the United States in the lead internationally in climate-smart agriculture.
To mitigate climate change, USDA allots $72 million for carbon storage in soil
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a $72.3 million allocation within the cost-sharing Environmental Quality Incentive Program for activities that boost carbon storage in healthy soil. Vilsack unveiled the initiative during a one-year review of USDA's Climate Smart program to help meet U.S. pledges to mitigate climate change.