‘Fairness for Farmers’ campaign targets market power of big companies
Buoyed by a Biden administration pledge to vigorously police agricultural mergers, the National Farmers Union launched the nationwide “Fairness for Farmers” campaign on Wednesday to restore competition in the marketplace. “This endeavor has clear goals: to curtail consolidation in agriculture and bust the monopolies, which negatively impact farmers, ranchers, and consumers,” said NFU president Rod Larew.
Workshops to ‘plot the next 30 years’ of organic
A series of four workshops beginning on Oct. 27 will focus on the future of organic production in the United States, said the Organic Trade Association and the Swette Center at Arizona State University on Wednesday. “We need everyone seated at the table to successfully plot the next 30 years of organic,” said Swette Center director Kathleen Merrigan.
Today’s Quick Hits
RFS cuts considered: The EPA has proposed large cuts in biofuel blending requirements for 2020, 2021, and 2022 to reflect the overall drop in fuel consumption during the pandemic, according to a document provided by an unnamed source. (Reuters)
Vote on Wilkes: The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to vote on Thursday on the nomination of Homer Wilkes for USDA undersecretary for natural resources. (Senate Ag)
USMCA + UK?: With hopes of an Anglo-U.S. trade deal receding, Britain proposed that it join the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, although obstacles to that idea quickly emerged. (Irish Times)
Hemp options: At their annual meeting, members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture agreed that industrial hemp should be designated as both a USDA specialty crop and a commodity, depending on its intended use. (NASDA)
