White House threatens to veto USDA-FDA funding bill
House Republicans are “wasting time with partisan bills,” said the White House in a three-page list of objections to the $198 billion USDA-FDA funding bill on Monday, including cuts to clean energy programs and a ban on over-the-counter sales of the abortion drug mifepristone. The GOP-controlled House may vote on the bill later this week.
EPA proposes quicker action to mitigate adverse impact of herbicides
Rather than working on individual herbicides and species, the EPA said on Monday it would develop a multi-chemical, multi-species approach to meeting its obligations to protect threatened and endangered species from harmful chemicals. The draft Herbicide Strategy, open for public comment until Sept. 20, focuses on agricultural use of weedkillers because it is the largest category of use for herbicides, and because the habitats of hundreds of threatened and endangered species are adjacent to farms and ranches, said the EPA.
Participation in summer meal programs takes a nosedive
An average of almost 3 million children ate lunch daily through USDA’s summer nutrition programs last year, a huge decline from 5.4 million a day during summer 2021 with the effective end of pandemic-era operating flexibilities, said the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) on Monday. While lunch participation plunged by 44 percent, breakfast participation plunged by 62 percent, to an average of 1.8 million a day.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Russia hits Danube ports: Russia destroyed grain infrastructure in overnight attacks on two Ukrainian ports just across the Danube River from Romania; Reni and Izmail are important outlets for grain following closure of Black Sea shipping lanes. (BBC)
Buy groceries, pay later: An increasing number of Americans, confronted with rising prices, are buying groceries on the installment plan via “buy now, pay later” apps — a 40 percent increase in usage of the apps for groceries this year, says one analysis. (Washington Post)
Fertilizer over-use as ‘insurance’: U.S. farmers routinely apply more nitrogen fertilizer than needed, at an estimated cost of $400 million a year, to assure high corn yields, although they could maintain yields with more efficient use of nutrients. (The New Lede)
Funds for 1890 universities: The USDA awarded $33 million in grants for teaching, research and Extension projects at the 19 historically Black land-grant universities created under the Second Morrill Act of 1890. (USDA)
Change crop report time: A Memphis trading house has started a petition drive calling on USDA to release the monthly Crop Production and WASDE reports at 9 a.m. ET, when U.S. futures markets are closed so everyone has time to digest the data. (Change.org)
