News Archive: Months of Agri-Pulse Reporting Available

What's ahead for Washington this week

Washington, Nov. 29 - President Obama announces his Afghanistan plans Tuesday evening. Meanwhile Republicans like Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) say that Obama should beef up the war effort not only by sending at least the 40,000 requested but also by postponing other legislative business.

U.S., now China: will India be next to set climate change targets?

Washington, Nov. 27 - Immediately following President Obama's announcement of domestic targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions Nov. 25, China did the same Nov. 26. This swift succession may indicate that last week's U.S./China talks reached an agreement on joint action.

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Obama's Copenhagen plans get positive & negative reviews

Washington, Nov. 25 - President Obama's decisions to travel to Copenhagen to take part in the Dec. 7-18 international climate change negotiations and to set targets for U.S. emissions reductions have brought widespread praise from congressional Democrats and from environmental groups - and criticism from climate change skeptics.

Obama sets targets & will attend Copenhagen climate summit

Washington, Nov. 25 - President Obama will attend the international climate change negotiations which start Dec. 7th in Copenhagen. As well, Obama will take with him a commitment to pursue “a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17% below 2005 levels in 2020.”

USDA provides $320 million for Mississippi River Basin initiative

Washington, Nov. 23 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that 41 watersheds in 12 states have been selected to participate in a new $320 million initiative to improve water quality and the overall health of the Mississippi River Basin.

Nov. 30 deadline for USDA value-added producer grants

Washington, Nov. 23 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is urging farmers and business owners to apply for grants to add value to the commodities they produce. USDA will award planning grants of up to $100,000 and working capital grants of up to $300,000 to successful applicants.

Research cracks corn genome code, promising higher yields

Washington, Nov. 20 - IIn a major step toward potentially higher grain yields, greater drought and disease resistance, and more efficient nitrogen use, a research consortium has completed high-quality sequencing of the corn (maize) genome.

Senate HELP Committee passes comprehensive food safety bill

Washington, Nov. 19 - Catching up with the House, this week Tom Harkin's Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee passed its own comprehensive Food Safety legislation - but the hard part may just be beginning.

USDA & Commerce racing to deliver $7 bil. for rural broadband

Washington, Nov. 19 - USDA confirms that awards will be announced in December for the $4 billion first round of stimulus-bill funding for improving rural broadband service - and that you have until Nov. 30 to send in your comments on how to improve the program.

USDA officials: Soybean groups ‘not ripe' for mediation

Washington, Nov. 18 - USDA sees no reason to ask a federal mediator to help the American Soybean Association and United Soybean Board find common ground.

‘One Health' aims to integrate animal & human health issues

Washington, Nov. 18 - One Health Summit in Washington DC this week stressed the importance of controlling human diseases at their source - which increasingly has become animals. It's an urgent population- and climate-driven threat calling for an interdisciplinary response.

Senate Environment Committee passes climate bill in 11-1 vote

Washington, Nov. 5 - With all seven Republican members continuing their three-day boycott of markup of the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill, on Thursday Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) used a procedural loophole to win a Democrats-only 11-1 vote.

Farm Bureau's Stallman sets the climate bill record straight

Washington, Oct. 29 - American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman warns that if the Senate's Kerry-Boxer climate bill is passed, “Increased input costs will put our farmers and ranchers at a competitive disadvantage with producers in other countries that do not have similar greenhouse gas restrictions.”

Senate Ag Considers $10 billion more for nutrition programs

Washington, Nov. 3 - Senate Ag Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln outlined her priorities for child nutrition legislation: (1) ensuring that all children eligible for federal nutrition programs are actually receiving benefits; (2) improving the nutritional quality of meals; and (3) modernizing and improving the integrity of the programs.

EPA requiring switch from carbofuran to safer pesticides

Washington, Oct. 30 - After three years of revocation procedures, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced implementation of the agency's May 2009 final rule revoking tolerances, or residue limits, for the pesticide carbofuran. EPA stated that it “continues to find that dietary exposures to carbofuran from all sources combined are not safe.”