Articles Tagged with ''Conservation Reserve Program''

PepsiCo is giving a big boost to efforts by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action to reduce greenhouse gases in agriculture, donating $5 million to a year-old partnership now rebranded as AgMission.

President Joe Biden will announce his infrastructure plan this week during a trip to Pittsburgh. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Fox News Sunday this is the follow-up to the American Rescue Plan. “What the American people will hear from him this week, is … the first step of his plan toward recovery, which will include an investment in infrastructure," Psaki said.

Former House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson is gearing up to join the upcoming congressional debate about climate and farm policy. Peterson tells Agri-Pulse he’s talking to several firms about consulting roles, but he indicated he’s not in a rush to sign up.

Democrats are preparing to pour money into federal conservation programs as a key way to pay farmers to address climate change. Converting marginal croplands to grass through the Conservation Reserve Program is one way to do it, but the question is whether USDA can get landowners interested in it again.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency is extending the general signup period for the Conservation Reserve Program so it can look at ways to close an approximately 3-million-acre gap between the amount enrolled for 2021 and the CRP cap of 25 million acres.

Congress faces a midnight deadline to keep the government funded. As of Thursday evening, it wasn’t clear whether lawmakers would be asked to pass a very short-term stopgap spending bill to provide the time they need to pass a massive bill that would include both government funding for fiscal 2021 as well as a big new COVID aid package.

The House has passed a new stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded through next week - and buy more time for negotiators to reach a deal on a new coronavirus relief package.

It’s official. Georgia Democrat David Scott will chair the House Agriculture Committee next year. The full House conference voted to approve Scott as recommended by the House Democratic steering committee.

Providing some parting advice on climate policy, House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson said he was introducing legislation that would require the Agriculture Department to take 50 million acres of cropland out of production through the Conservation Reserve Program.

Producers can begin signing up for the Conservation Reserve Program Jan. 4 and CRP Grasslands March 15, USDA has announced. The CRP signup will run through Feb. 12, while the grasslands signup will go through April 23.