Farmers doubt there will be a farm bill this year
For the first time in polling by Purdue University, a plurality of farmers say Congress is unlikely to pass a farm bill in 2023. Lawmakers are all but certain to fail to enact a successor to the 2018 farm bill before it expires on Sept. 30 and plan to be in session for as few as nine of the remaining 22 weeks of this year.
‘Hands off SNAP,’ Scott warns Republicans
House Republicans will jeopardize passage of the farm bill if they insist on cuts in food stamps, said the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. “If they want to pass a farm bill that supports America’s farmers and families, they need to keep their hands off SNAP,” said Rep. David Scott of Georgia.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Free school meals in Massachusetts: Legislators sent to Gov. Maura Healey a state budget that would make free school meals a permanent fixture in the Bay State; six other states have approved universal free meals for students. (WBZ-TV)
Mojave Desert is burning: The York fire — California’s largest wildfire of the year — is burning through Joshua Tree forests along the California-Nevada border and has scorched more than 77,000 acres (120 square miles), a boomerang result of record winter rainfall. (Los Angeles Times)
Southern vs. northern production: Corn, soybean, and wheat production is more variable in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere, but it reduces the need for large global food reserves. (farmdoc daily)
CAFOs stink, say neighbors: Large livestock farms are an economic driver in farm states, “but they can be a nightmare for those living nearby” because of court rulings and state laws that make it difficult for neighbors to stop noise and odor from the farms. (Wall Street Journal)
Tax code aids renewables: Provisions in the tax code provided 70 percent of federal financial support to the energy sector from fiscal years 2016-2022, and nearly half of federal subsidies were for renewable energy producers, primarily biofuels, wind, and solar. (Energy Information Administration)
