Senate vs. House confrontation looms over relocating ERS and NIFA
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to approve a bill on Thursday that effectively allows Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s removal of two research agencies to Kansas City from Washington, setting up a clash with House leaders.
USDA final hog slaughter rules imperil consumers and plant workers, advocates say
The Department of Agriculture released final rules Tuesday that overhaul hog slaughter inspection. The rules were criticized by consumer, animal, and labor groups for their potential to increase food safety risks as well as possible increased risks to plant workers.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
‘Big league’ sales of U.S. soy (Ag Insider): China is “starting to buy our farm products big league,” said President Trump as USDA reported the third sizable sale since Friday of U.S. soybeans to Beijing. With the new sale of 260,000 tonnes, China has purchased 720,000 tonnes of soybeans worth about $236 million.
Meat giant buys beef from deforested Amazon (Guardian): Brazilian beef giant Marfrig, which sources meat to fast food restaurants around the world, bought illegal cattle from a farm using deforested land in the Amazon.
LaVoy becomes top USDA official for rural development (USDA): Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue swore into office Donald LaVoy, a former HUD deputy assistant secretary, as deputy undersecretary for rural development.
U.S.-Japan pact stands pat on rice (Bloomberg): The tentative U.S.-Japan trade pact does not expand Japanese quotas for U.S. rice, says a person familiar with the accord.
Colorado community tries self-governance of water (High Country News): Residents of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado are trying on their own to control water use so it reaches a sustainable level by 2031, with steps such as paying farmers to idle their land and taxing commercial irrigation.
