Project 2025 plan for USDA: Repeal crop subsidies, move SNAP to HHS
In a second term as president, Donald Trump would seek repeal of crop subsidy and export promotion programs, make farmers pay more for crop insurance, and move all of USDA’s public nutrition programs, including SNAP and school lunch, to the Department of Health and Human Services if he follows the advice of Project 2025, written by conservatives.
Colorado dairy worker had mild case of bird flu
A dairy farmworker in northeastern Colorado, who had direct exposure to sick cattle, was treated for a mild case of bird flu and has recovered, said state health officials. The male worker is the fourth person in the country — all employed on dairy farms — infected by the avian flu virus since the disease was identified in dairy cattle in Texas in late March.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Craig: ‘Pass the torch’: Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, became the fifth House Democrat to urge President Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee for president “and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.” (Craig)
Food Price Index stable: The FAO Food Price Index, based on average prices worldwide for grains, oilseeds, dairy, sugar, and meat, was unchanged in May and was nearly 25-percent lower than its inflation-driven peak of March 2022. (FAO)
Remaking the Mississippi River: Thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Biden administration has $2.5 billion available as a down payment on upgrading navigation infrastructure on the Mississippi River and other waterways. (Politico)
Outlook for cultivated meat: The leader of the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture said the cultivated meat industry is going through a consolidation phase common to emerging technologies and the long-term outlook is strong. (AgFunderNews)
Cucumber illnesses traced to canal: Untreated water from a canal in Florida was the likely cause of an outbreak of salmonella in cucumbers that sickened 449 people in 31 states, said federal officials. (USA Today)
ON THE CALENDAR
Monday
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association holds Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting, through Wednesday, San Diego.
United Soybean Board, in charge of soybean checkoff funds, meets to finalize its budget for fiscal 2025, through Thursday, Baltimore.
USDA releases weekly Crop Progress report, 4 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is lead witness at Senate Banking Committee hearing, “The semiannual monetary policy report to Congress,” 10 a.m. ET, 216 Hart.
American Farmland Trust sponsors Solar Farm Summit, “North America’s agrivoltaic expo,” through Wednesday, Chicago.
Wednesday
House Appropriations Committee votes on three fiscal 2025 funding bills, including funding for USDA and FDA, 9 a.m. ET, 2359 Rayburn. The USDA-FDA bill would allow five states, as pilot projects, to bar SNAP recipients from buying unhealthy foods and block USDA from implementing three fair-play rules on livestock marketing.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee holds a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency, 10 a.m. ET, 2154 Rayburn.
CFTC chairman Rostin Behnam is lead witness at the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, “Oversight of digital commodities,” 10 a.m. ET, 328A Russell.
Senate Agriculture subcommittee hearing, “The state of rural infrastructure, emergency response, recovery, and resilience,” 2:30 p.m. ET, 328A Russell.
House Agriculture Committee hearing, “Examining the consequences of EPA’s actions on rural America,” 2 p.m. ET, 1300 Longworth.
Thursday
Senate Appropriations Committee votes on three fiscal 2025 funding bills, including the USDA-FDA funding bill, 9:30 a.m. ET, 106 Dirksen.
The Labor Department releases monthly Consumer Price Index report, 8:30 a.m. ET. At present, the food inflation rate is 2.1 percent and the overall U.S. inflation rate is 3.3 percent.
USDA releases Vegetable and Pulses Outlook, 3 p.m. ET.
Friday
USDA releases monthly Crop Production and WASDE reports, noon ET. Growers planted more land to corn than expected, according to the annual Acreage report released at the end of June, so the USDA may project the second-largest corn crop on record. In August the USDA will make its first forecast of the fall harvest, based on a survey of farmers and spot checks of fields.
