Category: Farm Report

RFS ‘is definitely a priority for this administration,’ says EPA nominee The Biden administration plans a thorough review of recent EPA decisions involving the federal mandate to mix corn ethanol and other biofuels into gasoline, said Michael Regan, the White House nominee to run the agency, at his Wednesday confirmation… Continue reading

Agriculture may be ‘first and best place’ for climate gains, says Vilsack The Biden administration will work with farmers, ranchers and forest owners “to create new sources of revenue tied to their good climate practices,” said agriculture secretary-nominee Tom Vilsack on Tuesday. With USDA’s broad authority to aid farmers, he… Continue reading

Schumer pledges speedy Senate action on Vilsack, other Biden nominees President Biden wants U.S. agriculture to be the first in the world to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, with Tom Vilsack guiding the effort as agriculture secretary. Vilsack, who will have the opportunity to spell out the details of… Continue reading

Few states ready for Biden expansion of P-EBT Two days after taking office, President Biden directed the USDA to boost benefits by 15 percent in the P-EBT program for school-age children in low-income families, and to include children under the age of 6. The expansion would aid millions of children,… Continue reading

Missed some agricultural news this week? Here are seven stories to catch you up.- Farm Progress   A new form of African swine fever is circulating in China and it’s been linked to illicit vaccines. More than 1,000 sows have been infected on farms owned by New Hope Liuhe, China’s… Continue reading

Voluntary mitigation is agriculture’s preference on climate change The incoming chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee said she will pursue “voluntary, producer-led” solutions, such as carbon markets, for agriculture’s contribution to fighting climate change, with the USDA providing expert advice to producers. Sen. Debbie Stabenow also said the USDA could… Continue reading

Ag role in climate mitigation: Net-zero emissions Before signing an executive order on fighting climate change, President Biden said on Wednesday that mitigation efforts would include net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by the agricultural sector, now responsible for 10 percent of U.S. emissions. “We see farmers making American agriculture first… Continue reading

Farmers are worried about climate change but skeptical of carbon markets Farmers in the largest corn-growing state are increasingly concerned about the potential impact of climate change on their operations but also dubious of carbon markets that would pay them to sequester carbon in the soil, according to the annual… Continue reading

Vilsack confirmation is slowed by Senate fight over rules The Senate scheduled confirmation hearings for half a dozen of President Biden’s cabinet nominees this week but Tom Vilsack, seeking to become agriculture secretary for the second time, was not among them. The Agriculture Committee cannot consider his nomination until Senate… Continue reading

Non-family farms take larger share of U.S. land and production America may still be a land of family farms — 96 percent of the 2 million farms in the country are owned by families, according to a new USDA report on farm types. Yet there are more and more non-family… Continue reading