Farm bill priorities: More stewardship, less reliance on subsidies
The 2023 farm bill should eliminate wasteful subsidies to the biggest farmers and landowners in favor of programs that reach more producers at a lower cost, said a coalition of budget hawks, a consumer group and a small-farm advocacy organization in a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday.
USDA: As the world economy slows, so will U.S. farm exports
U.S. farm exports will fall back to $190 billion this fiscal year, down 4 percent from the record set in just-ended fiscal 2022, as economic growth slows in most countries, forecast the Agriculture Department on Tuesday. Soybeans, the No. 1 ag export, as well as cotton and corn would see the largest declines, jointly falling by 7 percent.
Fight for $15 movement tackles racial wealth gap
In 2012, a group of 200 fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City and demanded a $15 hourly wage and a union. In the decade since, the “Fight for $15,” as the movement came to be called, has secured higher wages for more than 26 million workers, lowered the racial wealth gap in many states and pumped more than $87 billion into local economies, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Employment Law Project.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
‘Be more pro-producer’: Zach Ducheneaux, head of USDA’s Farm Service Agency, said at a Chicago Federal Reserve Bank conference, “I think we’ve got to be more pro-producer” in operating the agency’s farm lending programs and offer friendlier terms. (Ag Insider)
House vote on rail bill: After congressional leaders conferred with President Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would vote on Wednesday on legislation to avert a rail strike by imposing contract terms on labor unions. (FERN’s Ag Insider)
Year-round E15 legislation: Farm-state Sens. Deb Fischer and Amy Klobuchar unveiled a bill to allow year-round sale of E15 and other blends of ethanol higher than the traditional 10 percent, with the support of the oil industry, usually a biofuel foe. (Reuters)
Cargill buys Owensboro Grain: Grain processor and trader Cargill said it would acquire Owensboro Grain Co., a soybean processor, as part of its plan to modernize and increase its capacity in the North American oilseed market. (Cargill)
