USDA
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.”
Report: Retooling USDA programs for climate mitigation is ‘politically fraught’
The USDA could use its biggest land stewardship programs — the Conservation Reserve, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the Conservation Stewardship Program — to combat climate change, wrote University of Maryland professor Erik Lichtenberg in a think tank report. But to make the programs as effective as possible, he said, Congress would have to reorient them, a risky move that could cut into their support.
USDA awards $115 million to boost independent meat processors
On Thursday, as part of an administration initiative to increase independent meat processing capacity, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $38 million in grants to processors and $77 million to intermediary lenders to finance the start-up, expansion, or operation of independent processing facilities. The result will be a stronger food supply chain and more competition in the meat processing sector, said the administration.
Vilsack taps USDA fund as House GOP tries to block his access
Declaring it was "an appropriate utilization" of resources, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack allotted nearly $2.7 billion in USDA funds for school meals, food banks, and domestic fertilizer production. House Republicans are trying to block Vilsack's access to the $30 billion account that was the source of the funding.
In a landmark step, U.S. clears cell-cultured chicken for consumers
Two companies that grow “cultivated” chicken in fermentation vats rather than slaughtering poultry said on Wednesday their products will soon be sold in U.S. restaurants now that they have received final clearance from the government. “This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to the table,” said the chief executive of UPSIDE Foods.
Tougher scrutiny of land purchases by foreigners proposed
The Agriculture Department and the FDA would become members of a powerful U.S. committee that rules on the national security implications of foreign ownership of U.S. assets under a bipartisan Senate bill unveiled on Tuesday. The legislation would also empower the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), led by the Treasury, to consider retroactive divestment of real estate owned by foreign entities.
Senate bill boosts regional ‘seeds and breeds’
The USDA would offer at least $75 million a year for the development of regionally adapted plant seeds and livestock breeds at public universities under a bill filed by five senators. Sponsors said regional diversity would make the U.S. food chain more resilient and more productive.
Legislative rider directs USDA to block farmland purchases by four nations
To foil foreign adversaries, the Agriculture Department should “take such steps as may be necessary” to prevent them from buying U.S. farmland, said the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, despite questions about whether the USDA has the authority to intrude on sales. “This is a very important step,” said Rep. Don Newhouse, sponsor of the legislative rider aimed at China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
USDA asks, is it really antibiotic-free, raised humanely?
Two USDA agencies will begin a sampling project to see if there are antibiotic residues in beef marketed as “raised without antibiotics,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. The USDA’s food safety agency will also issue a guideline recommending that companies produce more proof when they want to use a label that says animals were raised under specific conditions.
New lender dedicated to Native American producers
The Native American Agriculture Fund, a trust created by the settlement of the Keepseagle class action lawsuit against the USDA, said on Wednesday it would invest $12 million to set up a lender dedicated to working with Native American producers.
USDA accepts more than 1 million acres for Conservation Reserve
The USDA will accept more than 1 million acres of the land that was offered for entry into the land-idling Conservation Reserve during the recent signup for large tracts of land, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. Contracts expire on 2 million acres of land in the reserve this fall and enrollment of 23 million acres is well below the ceiling of 27 million acres.
One in six retail food dollars was spent on ‘natural’ food
Consumers spend more on foods labeled "natural" than for items with the "USDA Organic" seal on them, said three USDA economists who looked into usage of the word "natural" on food labels. They said scanner records and other data indicated that 16 percent of retail food expenditures were for foods labeled "natural."
Grocery inflation slows, again
For the third month in a row, the USDA lowered its forecast of grocery price inflation this year. The monthly Food Price Outlook estimated that grocery prices would rise by an average of 6.3 percent this year, compared to 11.4 percent in 2022.
USDA, DHS dedicate agro-defense lab approved in 9/11 aftermath
Two decades after the September 11 attacks shaped American resolve against terror, the federal government dedicated a $1.25 billion agro-defense laboratory in eastern Kansas on Wednesday to protect the U.S. food supply from zoonotic animal diseases. The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will conduct research on dangerous livestock diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, and develop countermeasures, such as vaccines.
Don’t let climate steer USDA conservation work, say House Republicans
Congress "must remove the climate restrictions" on $20 billion in funding that had been given to the USDA to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase climate resiliency, said two senior Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. Chairman Glenn Thompson and Indiana Rep. Jim Baird said the money should be available for all land stewardship practices.
USDA puts $394 million into infrastructure in rural areas
Some 2 million people in small towns and rural communities will benefit from projects to improve housing, health care and infrastructure in eight states and Puerto Rico, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. Vilsack announced $394 million in grants, loans and loan guarantees for 52 projects through the Rural Partners Network.
USDA announces $4.3 billion smorgasbord of ag aid
Farmers and ranchers who suffered losses due to natural disasters ranging from drought to hurricanes last year will receive $3.7 billion in aid in coming months, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The USDA also announced $500 million in additional funding for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and $103 million to defray marketing costs for organic dairy farmers this year.
With cuts, USDA will ‘do more with less,’ say House Republicans
Split on party lines, a House subcommittee approved a USDA spending bill on Thursday that would rescind $6 billion earmarked for clean energy and farm loan forgiveness and end work on fair play rules in livestock marketing. The bill also would limit Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s access to a $30 billion reserve that is being used to pay for a climate-smart agriculture initiative.