Rebekah Alvey

Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency promised  at his confirmation hearing Thursday to work with farm-state senators on renewable fuel issues if confirmed as administrator, but also faced skepticism from Democrats who fear he won't be able to address climate change.

More Senate confirmation hearings are on tap today. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head EPA, former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, will appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, selected to be interior secretary, will testify before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. 

A fractured clean air plan * Flows-only path hurts housing * Zeldin, Burgum face Senate hearings today

USDA is making it easier for growers to qualify for a new biofuel tax credit by increasing the number of eligible crops and climate-smart farming practices and dropping a bundling requirement.

EPA has released a draft risk assessment that says using PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge on farms may expose growers and those eating affected agricultural products to health risks.

The Food and Drug Administration has revoked the food use authorization of Red Dye No. 3, a dye that gives foods and drinks their bright-red color but which also is linked to cancer in animals.

CA abandons diesel truck ban, train rules * Wonderful Co. reacts to water hoarding conspiracy * FDA’s packaging proposal

House Republicans are targeting nutrition assistance for possible funding cuts as they look for ways to pay for other policy priorities, raising questions about how such reductions could affect Democratic support for a new farm bill.

Anti-hunger and food industry groups are readying to push back on efforts to restrict certain foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program given the rise of Make America Healthy Again rhetoric in Congress and the Trump administration. 

Three advanced biofuel projects will receive a total of $6 million to support the federal government’s efforts to boost production of sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF.