Ethanol and China are flash points for Trump and Biden campaigns – October 14, 2020

Ethanol and China are flash points for Trump and Biden campaigns

President Trump “sold out ethanol to Big Oil” by handing out dozens of exemptions from the ethanol mandate, said Iowa farmer Pam Johnson, speaking for the Biden campaign at a forum on Tuesday. “We haven’t abandoned the RFS and we aren’t going to — ever,” retorted Trump representative Sam Clovis.

 

USDA pays $1.5 billion a week in coronavirus relief

In just three weeks, the USDA sent $4.52 billion to farmers and ranchers through its new coronavirus relief program, data released on Tuesday show. More than $4 of every $10 disbursed by the so-called CFAP2 went to corn and soybean growers, concentrated in the Midwest.

 

TODAY’S QUICK HITS

To protect food production, recarbonize: The 2020 winner of the World Food Prize, Rattan Lal, said “recarbonization of the soil and biosphere” is vital for agriculture to feed a growing global population. (DTN/Progressive Farmer)

 

Big feeder exits cattle business: Green Plains Inc., a corn processor and ethanol maker, sold its remaining 50 percent interest in Green Plains Cattle Co., the fourth-largest cattle feeder in the country with capacity for 355,000 head, for $80 million. (Drovers)

 

Far fewer hemp acres: Kentucky growers harvested roughly 5,000 acres of industrial hemp this year, compared with 26,000 acres last year, said state agriculture commissioner Ryan Quarles. Despite the decline, he believes hemp will mature into a vast market. (Messenger-Inquirer)

 

Economics outweigh school lunch interventions: Interventions — such as cafeteria redesign, nutrition education for teachers, and increased points of sale through vending machines and food carts — affect students’ participation in school lunch programs but economic conditions play a much larger role, says a study led by the UC-Berkeley School of Public Health. (Daily Californian)

 

Wide risk of ecosystem collapse: One-fifth of the countries in the world are at risk of ecosystem collapses stemming from the destruction of wildlife and their environments, said an analysis by insurer Swiss Re. (Guardian)

 

Trump signs executive order on tree planting: In an executive order, President Trump created an inter-agency council on Tuesday to encourage tree planting and preservation as part of the worldwide One Trillion Trees Initiative to help ensure U.S. forests are healthy and productive. (Interior Department)

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