Items Tagged with 'Vermont'

Lawmakers are steering $346 million in USDA funding to their home states and districts this year as earmarks returned for the first time since Republicans took control of the House in 2011 and then-President Barack Obama vowed to veto bills that had such designated spending.

Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, a longtime member and former chair of the Senate Ag Committee who took a special interest in the nation’s dairy and organic policy, plans to retire at the end of his current term.

The Agriculture Department is providing nearly $350 million in payments to dairy producers who lost revenue because of market disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and a change to a federal pricing formula made by the 2018 farm bill.

The public’s attitude toward genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food is difficult to define, as illustrated by the results of two surveys released today. One found that GMO labels in Vermont lessened consumer fears, while another found that half the American public had human health concerns when shown a bottle of cooking oil with a “BE” label.