rural infrastructure
Shield farmers from higher taxes for Biden projects, says House ag chair
The Biden administration could "impose a significant financial burden" on farm families with its proposal for stricter application of capital gains taxes, said House Agriculture chairman David Scott on Wednesday. Scott also said any increase in estate taxes "for those taking over farmland is untenable."
Lawmakers ask for $200 billion for USDA climate work
Thirty Democrats in the House and Senate, in a letter to congressional leaders working on broad-scale climate and infrastructure legislation, called for "a substantial investment in farmers, ranchers, and rural communities as part of the climate solution."
House bill proposes more than $7 billion for rural broadband
Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday proposed a three-year program with $7.35 billion in funding to bring broadband access to rural America. The bill would focus on the most remote and least served areas.
‘Now is the time’ to boost USDA funding, say farm groups
Lawmakers should increase funding for the USDA's land stewardship programs as part of the administration's infrastructure bill because funding will probably be tight when Congress writes the 2023 farm bill, dozens of farm, conservation, and environmental groups said in a letter.
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>
Bringing broadband to all rural Americans could cost up to $150 billion
After Covid’s chill, a hot recovery is at hand
The U.S. economy could grow at its fastest rate — 7 percent — in nearly four decades, with the farm sector sharing in the energetic recovery from the pandemic, said CoBank on Thursday. "Many in the agricultural industry are experiencing the best market conditions since 2013," said the lender in a quarterly assessment of the sector.
Amid Covid-19 bottleneck in meat industry, PRIME Act gains support
Closures at meatpacking plants due to outbreaks of Covid-19 have sent shockwaves through the livestock industry. With thousands of confirmed cases among plant workers and operations stuttering across the country, the backlog of animals awaiting slaughter is growing and farmers are running out of options. The bottleneck promises to have long-term consequences for American ranchers and is injecting new urgency into calls for relaxing federal regulations that limit small farmers’ access to livestock processing.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Common question at Senate infrastructure hearing: How to pay for it
With five cabinet members on hand to testify, Senate Commerce Committee chairman John Thune said a vast overhaul of U.S. infrastructure should be a legislative cakewalk. “Both sides can come together on this,” he said. “And it can happen this year.”
USDA rural leader mum about funds needed for economic growth
Some 46 million people live in rural America, scattered across 72 percent of the U.S. landmass, and conditions in many rural communities “are incredibly challenging,” said Anne Hazlett, recently installed as head of the USDA’s rural economic development programs. During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Hazlett agreed that “resources will be needed” for rural growth but deflected questions about whether more federal dollars should go into the programs.
Rural areas may need partners for infrastructure improvements
The think tank Bipartisan Policy Center says public–private partnerships are a viable way for rural communities to pursue infrastructure projects but that this approach may require strategies such as bundling projects into a package that is attractive to investors. “While robust public funding is essential to meeting these urgent needs, rural areas, like their urban counterparts, should be empowered to tap into the financial and technical expertise of the private sector to help deliver infrastructure projects more quickly and at less cost,” says the center.
Nearly 40 percent of rural Americans lack access to high-speed internet
Most Americans take access to fast internet connections for granted, but in rural America, nearly four of every 10 people cannot get broadband, a disadvantage when commerce and public services are often routed digitally.
Trump calls for modernization of inland waterways
U.S. river traffic, key to farm exports, relies "on a dilapidated system of locks and dams that is more than half a century old" and needs a 21st-century update, said President Trump in pushing for a massive public works program. By coincidence, Trump spoke in the same city — Cincinnati — and used the same backdrop — barges on the Ohio River — that Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue did a month ago when he announced a reorganization of USDA.
Trade group mimics Trump, Clinton language to promote public-works spending
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers, whose members make construction equipment as well as farm machinery, is running a pair of broadcast ads in swing states to promote infrastructure spending, each slanted toward a Trump or Clinton audience, says AgWeb. An AEM spokesman says it is a "unique way to approach our messaging to external audiences."
Rural infrastructure fund makes first investments
The first round of funding for rural infrastructure projects was released by the year-old U.S. Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund that mixes public and private capital, said the USDA.
Rural electric projects get $349 million in U.S. support
Fifteen projects to improve more than 1,844 miles of transmission and distribution lines in rural America will receive a total of $349 million in low-cost federal loans.
USDA announces $85.8 million for rural broadband
Rural broadband projects from South Carolina to Alaska will receive a total of $85.8 million in grants and loans to construct or upgrade internet service, said the USDA.
Obama selects McBride to lead Rural Utilities Services
President Obama selected Brandon McBride, a Senate Agriculture Committee staff worker, to serve as administrator of USDA's Rural Utilities Services, the White House announced.
Ten RECs get $4.4 billion in New ERA clean energy funding
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $4.37 billion in grants and loans to 10 rural electric cooperatives on Thursday for clean energy projects that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.1 million tons a year. With the awards, the USDA has allocated nearly $9 billion of the $9.7 billion available in the Empowering Rural America program.