Farm bill ‘is not the only tool available’ to expand ag economy
The Biden administration is broadening the U.S. agricultural economy through climate-smart and bioproduct initiatives while Congress is seemingly stymied over the new farm bill, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. He warned against raiding conservation funding to pay for higher reference prices for corn, soybeans, and other row crops, a leading goal of farm groups.
Farm income to plateau after this year’s decline
U.S. farm income will decline modestly in 2024 and then run at historically high levels in the near term, said the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) think tank at the University of Missouri on Monday. Although well above average, net farm income of around $140 billion annually in coming years would be a step down from the record of $183 billion last year.
USDA to compensate farmers for dumped milk
Dairy farmers who were forced to dump milk during a natural disaster are eligible for up to $250,000 in compensation from the new Milk Loss Program, said the USDA on Monday. The program covers losses in 2020, 2021, and 2022 from droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freezes, and smoke exposure.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Debt for nature: The U.S. will cancel $20 million of Peru’s debt payments; in exchange, Peru will use the money for conservation projects in the Amazon rainforest. (Treasury Department)
USDA rural development nominee: President Biden tabbed Basil Gooden, a former Virginia state agriculture secretary, to serve as Agriculture undersecretary for rural development, succeeding Xochitl Torres Small, who is now deputy secretary. (White House)
Reject Summit pipeline application: The South Dakota state Public Utilities Commission denied a permit for Summit Carbon Solutions to build what it calls the world’s largest carbon capture and storage project just days after rejecting the Navigator CO2 pipeline application. (Mitchell Republic)
Billion-dollar disaster record: The United States has been struck by 23 weather and climate disasters with individual losses exceeding $1 billion so far this year, topping 2020’s record of 22 such billion-dollar disasters. (NOAA)
Explosion rocks ADM plant: Corn and soybean processing was shut down at ADM’s massive Decatur, Illinois, plant following an explosion and fire that injured eight workers. (WCIA-TV)
