USDA donations of produce and dairy to replace Trump food box
The Trump administration’s much-criticized food box will be replaced for the moment by a $400 million dairy donation initiative and fresh produce distributed through a longstanding USDA program, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday.
Loan guarantees proposed to help foresters into carbon markets
A new Senate bill would offer up to $150 million in loan guarantees to companies and nonprofit groups that help small and family-size foresters adopt climate-smart practices and sell carbon credits.
As drought limits irrigation in Klamath Basin, feds offer aid
Growers in the Klamath Basin, in the Pacific Northwest, will receive the smallest amount of water ever from the federal government due to unrelenting drought, said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Wednesday. The water will be available around June 1, weeks later than usual.
Today’s Quick Hits
Vilsack reflects: Rather than exciting new challenges, “the reality is you come back to the old problems,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told lawmakers, commenting on his return to the USDA after holding the same job during the Obama era. (FERN’s Ag Insider)
Bronaugh to get a hearing: The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Jewel Bronaugh, nominee for deputy agriculture secretary, on April 22. (Senate Agriculture)
Gensler confirmed at SEC: Gary Gensler, who implemented Dodd-Frank financial reforms while chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration, was confirmed as SEC chairman on a 53-45 vote in the Senate. (FERN’s Ag Insider)
Overtime pay for farmworkers: An upcoming vote in the Washington State Senate could send a bill to Gov. Jay Inslee that, beginning in 2024, would require employers to pay overtime to farmworkers for labor beyond 40 hours a week. (The Counter)
Extended comment period: Public comments will be accepted until April 22 on proposed revisions to 23 national conservation standards that help guide the planning, installing, operating, and maintaining of conservation practices. (Natural Resources Conservation Service)
