Third round of pandemic payments begins to flow to farmers and ranchers The Biden administration has begun sending pandemic payments of more than $5.6 billion to cattle and crop producers, opening the third round of coronavirus relief to farmers and ranchers in 10 months, said a USDA spokesman on Monday…. Continue reading

USDA boosts SNAP by $1 billion a month in poorest households Households with very low incomes will be eligible for an additional $95 a month or more in emergency allotments of food stamps, said the Biden administration. The additional aid to an estimated 25 million people would amount to $1… Continue reading

House bill would bar racial favoritism at USDA Motivated by opposition to $4 billion in debt relief for minority farmers, two Republican representatives announced legislation on Thursday to prevent the USDA from considering race or gender in operating its programs. “All American farmers constitute a minority, and they are hurting… Continue reading

Biden proposes $100 billion to bring broadband to all Americans President Biden unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure package — “a once-in-a-generation investment in America” — on Wednesday that calls for spending $100 billion to deliver affordable and reliable broadband service to all Americans. The package also proposed a $5 billion… Continue reading

SNAP and P-EBT surged to 12 percent of grocery spending during pandemic Two months into the pandemic, roughly $1 in $8 spent on groceries in the United States came from the federal food assistance programs, SNAP and the newly created Pandemic EBT (P-EBT), compared to $1 of every $14 beforehand,… Continue reading

Rural broadband is on Biden’s infrastructure list President Biden plans to announce a plan to modernize U.S. infrastructure on Wednesday in Pittsburgh, with a dramatic expansion of rural broadband expected to be part of the package. Broadband service increasingly is seen as essential to rural prosperity and even survival.  … Continue reading

Vilsack on ag trade with China: ‘They need us’ Although China has yet to fulfill its “phase one” promises of mammoth purchases of U.S. farm exports, “the fact is, they need us,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a digital news conference. He added that, with China back in the… Continue reading

Debt relief will be distributed as quickly, carefully as possible, says Vilsack The USDA will disburse up to $4 billion in Biden-backed loan forgiveness to minority farmers as speedily as possible, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the first-ever House Agriculture Committee hearing on the state of Black farmers. Farm… Continue reading

USDA announces $12 billion in pandemic aid, aims for ‘a broader set of producers’ Following through on pledges of more equitable aid to agriculture, the Biden administration has created a new Pandemic Assistance for Producers program to distribute more than $12 billion in cash. It said on Wednesday that it… Continue reading

Climate mitigation on USDA conservation programs, senator suggests The government should use USDA conservation programs as the starting point for climate mitigation on the farm and “tread lightly” with unproven ideas like a carbon bank, said the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday.   USDA hits ‘pause’… Continue reading