McConnell may sidetrack USDA, other federal funding bills in Senate dispute – August 5, 2021

McConnell may sidetrack USDA, other federal funding bills in Senate dispute

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a mammoth USDA-FDA funding bill on Wednesday that includes $7 billion in disaster funds for crop and livestock losses in 2020 and this year. Almost immediately after the 25-5 vote, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell threatened to sidetrack the USDA and other appropriations bills in a budget dispute with Democrats, who control the Senate.

Groups ask Congress to double funds for land stewardship

Farm, wildlife, and environmental groups, from the Sierra Club to the National Farmers Union, on Wednesday called on lawmakers to increase funding for USDA land stewardship programs by $50 billion.

Bills call for uniformity in front-of-package nutrition labels

Lawmakers filed companion bills in the House and Senate on Wednesday to create a standard format for front-of-package nutrition labels so consumers will have a better idea of what’s in their food.

Today’s Quick Hits

Meatpacker mask rule: Workers at meat processing plants are expected to wear masks, regardless of their vaccination status, when USDA meat inspectors are present if the plant is in an area with “substantial” or “high” community transmission of the coronavirus. (Food Safety and Inspection Service)
Multi Million-acre dead zone: This year, the low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, which is created by nutrient runoff from farms and cities in the Mississippi River basin, is a larger-than-average 6,334 square miles, equal to 4 million acres. (NOAA)

California water woes: The state’s Water Resources Control Board voted to end, for the most part, the diversion of water for farm use from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to preserve the drinking water supply during the ongoing drought. (Associated Press)

Bovine fire brigade: While goats are more often mentioned for their fire-prevention value, cattle, through rotational grazing, can be effective in checking the buildup of grass and brush on farmland that can fuel wildfires. (Modern Farmer)

Garsts sell farmland: Descendants of Roswell Garst, who showed Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev the productive capacity of modern agriculture at his Iowa farm in 1953, are selling 2,000 acres of their land on the condition that the buyers maintain cover crops and use no-till practices. (Storm Lake Times)

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