Corn and soy growers take a step back from cover crops
Fewer of America’s large-scale corn and soybean farmers are planting cover crops this year than last, and nobody says they’re doing it to lock carbon in the soil, said a Purdue University survey on Tuesday. Cover crops, long promoted as a way to improve soil health, have more recently been promoted as an agricultural practice that mitigates climate change and could be a new source of income.
Minority farmers less likely than whites to benefit from crop insurance
Federally subsidized crop insurance is the dominant farm support, but socially disadvantaged farmers are far less likely than white farmers to participate in those programs, said a free-market think tank on Tuesday. Agriculture is an overwhelmingly white occupation in the United States, and the portion of mid-size and large farms—the major beneficiaries of crop insurance — operated by whites is even larger.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Expect global commodity volatility: Global commodity prices are projected this year to be higher than usual, although below 2022 levels, and “volatility in these markets in the near term is to be expected,” said a University of Missouri think tank. (FAPRI)
Arizona acts on alfalfa: Amid complaints that Saudi Arabia was effectively exporting Arizona water, the State Land Department is terminating leases held by a Saudi company that grows alfalfa with groundwater and ships the hay back home to be fed to dairy cows. (AZPM)
Need carbon pipeline safeguards: A dozen House Democrats asked President Biden to block new permits for carbon pipelines, such as three proposed in the Midwest to transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants, until federal safety rules are updated. (Reuters)
The sea turns green: The deep blue ocean “is turning a touch greener” as a result of climate change, which is raising the temperature of the sea and changing its ecosystems, say scientists. (NASA)
RFA prods California on E15: The California Air Resources Board “appears to be purposely ‘slow-walking’ the approval process” for statewide sale of E15—a richer-than-usual blend of ethanol—into gasoline, said a biofuel trade group. (Renewable Fuels Association)
