We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Terms and Cookie Policy
Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Agriculture Department is accepting 2.8 million acres into the land-idling Conservation Reserve Program, well under the 4 million acres the Biden administration was aiming for as part of its effort to use farmers to help reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Senate Republicans used the debate on a $3.5 trillion budget framework to force votes on energy and environmental issues that exposed potential fractures among Democrats.
After weeks of negotiations, the Senate moved quickly this week to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package Tuesday that was quickly followed by a party line vote early Wednesday morning to advance a $3.5 trillion budget framework.
The Senate passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that would provide $550 billion in new funding to repair America’s roads, bridges ports and waterways, while dramatically increasing high-speed internet access.
Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee have started meeting privately to start dividing up $135 billion in new spending that would be authorized by the partisan, fiscal 2022 budget resolution the Senate is considering.
Senate Democrats released a fiscal 2022 budget resolution that calls for $3.5 trillion in new spending, including as much as $135 billion for agriculture and child nutrition programs, funded largely by a border carbon tariff and tax increases on capital gains and high-earning individuals.
The nominee for undersecretary of natural resources and environment at USDA, who will oversee the Forest Service, promised he would work closely with local communities in managing the more than 190 million acres of national forests to prevent wildfires and create markets for wood products.
A former chair of the House Agriculture Committee is warning the committee about the potential downside of creating a permanent disaster assistance program for producers. Speaking on a panel at Minnesota’s Farmfest Wednesday, Collin Peterson said it’s important that the program not undermine crop insurance.
Congressional Democrats are pushing for a historic increase in conservation program funding that would help pay farmers to address climate change, but the money also could create some challenges for the House and Senate Agriculture committees as they write the new farm bill.
Daniel Whitley has been tapped to be the new administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, Bianca Moebius-Clune will lead American Farmland Trust’s Farmers Combat Climate Change Initiative, and Hanna Abou-El-Seoud has been promoted to director of corporate affairs at Nestlé.
