Trump trade war had ‘winners and losers’
When Trump appointees at the USDA parceled out trade war assistance to farmers, they exaggerated the damage in 2019 and over-compensated corn and wheat growers, said a congressional agency on Monday. “This report confirms that the Trump USDA picked winners and losers in their trade programs and left everyone else behind,” said Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat.
Significant progress toward ’30 by 30′ goal, says White House
In a progress report, the Biden administration said on Monday that it has “made significant progress to support effective and enduring conservation strategies” en route to conserving 30 percent of U.S. land and waters by 2030. The “30 by 30” plan relies on locally led and voluntary stewardship but has been met in some regions with suspicion of a hidden federal motive.
Today’s Quick Hits
Prop 12 worries: California should delay enforcement of the Proposition 12 animal welfare law for at least 28 months because “no one can adequately prepare to comply with a law with criminal sanctions and that authorizes civil litigation” until the final rules are issued, said the meat industry. (NAMI)
Rural vaccinations slow: About 172,000 rural Americans complete the Covid-19 vaccine regimen each week and 46.8 percent of the rural population is fully vaccinated, compared to 59.5 percent of urban residents. (Daily Yonder)
Octopus farming nears: The Spanish company Nueva Pescanova says it will open an octopus farm in the Canary Islands in summer 2022 with plans to sell 3,000 tonnes a year of octopus beginning in 2023. (BBC)
California’s marijuana cartels: Taking advantage of America’s acceptance of legalized cannabis, Mexican drug cartels are illegally growing large crops of marijuana in northern California, where they undercut legitimate growers and poison wildlife. (USA Today)
More hunger in Asia: More than 375 million people in Asia and the Pacific faced hunger in 2020, an increase of 54 million in one year, according to a report by two UN agencies. (FAO)
