Farm bill should expand climate-smart initiative
The Biden administration has committed $3.1 billion to 141 pilot projects to develop climate-smart commodities and the new farm bill should fund additional projects, said the AGree farm policy initiative on Wednesday. In a set of farm bill priorities, AGree also said the USDA should promote climate mitigation by looking beyond established conservation practices.
Worried about China? States limit who can buy U.S. farmland
A proposed corn mill processing plant was expected to be a big economic boon for Grand Forks, North Dakota, bringing hundreds of jobs. Then the U.S. Air Force weighed in at the request of North Dakota’s two U.S. senators — finding the Chinese-owned project’s proximity to a military base made it a “significant threat to national security.” The city council voted the project down soon after.
USDA clears two states to replace stolen SNAP benefits
Maryland and Vermont became the first states approved by the USDA to replace recipients’ SNAP benefits stolen by card skimming, card cloning and similar crimes, said Agriculture deputy undersecretary Stacy Dean on Tuesday. Benefit replacement is available for two years ending on Sept. 30, 2024, under a provision of the government funding bill passed last December.
Food inflation below 10 percent for first time since April
Although food inflation slowed for the sixth month in a row, it still was far above the annualized U.S. inflation rate of 6 percent, said the Labor Department on Tuesday. The food inflation rate of 9.5 percent was the lowest since last April, the last time the rate was below 10 percent.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
EPA limits PFAS in drinking water: The EPA proposed limits on six so-called PFAS chemicals in drinking water that it said would prevent thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of serious illnesses each year; the rule could take effect by the end of the year. (EPA)
Year-round E15 legislation: A Senate bill backed by ethanol makers and the oil industry would allow year-round sales of ethanol blends higher than 10 percent in a step that would end years of wrangling over E15. (Fischer)
Tyson closes chicken plants: Citing an “inability to economically improve operations,” Tyson Foods said it would close two chicken processing plants in Van Buren, Arkansas, and Glen Allyn, Virginia, employing 1,700 workers. (Reuters)
Winter canola for biofuel: Bunge, Corteva and Chevron said they would collaborate in the introduction of hybrid winter canola varieties with a lower carbon profile for use in making renewable fuels; the canola could be part of a double-crop rotation in southern states. (Business Wire)
