Rural America, mostly white, is becoming more diverse Three-quarters of rural Americans are white, a larger proportion than the roughly six in 10 for the nation overall, but the rural population is becoming more diverse, said a pair of analyses of Census data. The rural America of the future will… Continue reading

Climate mitigation is actually agricultural market development, says Vilsack The USDA will put a “significant” amount of money into large-scale pilot projects of climate-smart agricultural practices to create new markets for sustainably produced products, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. In announcing the initiative, which would go into effect… Continue reading

‘Genius grant’ for prof. who created prairie strips to reduce farm runoff Iowa State University professor Lisa Schulte Moore, a creator of prairie strips in farm fields to markedly reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss, won a $625,000 MacArthur Foundation ‘genius grant’ on Tuesday. Schulte Moore, one of 25 winners… Continue reading

Burst of USDA top-up pandemic payments to farmers Farmers have received $4.8 billion in long-promised payments of $20 an acre on crops that range from corn, soybeans, and wheat to sorghum and sugar beets, said USDA data on Monday. It was the largest disbursement of coronavirus relief funds since the… Continue reading

Equity Commission to examine USDA programs and policies for bias Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh will co-chair a congressionally approved Equity Commission to address racial discrimination within the USDA and its programs, announced the Agriculture Department. The USDA has been called “the last plantation” because of racial bias in its… Continue reading

New $5 billion cover crop initiative in climate package Farmers and landowners would share a combined $5 billion in payments for planting cover crops to reduce soil erosion and nutrient runoff under a proposal written by farm state Democrats in the Senate and House. The package would also boost spending… Continue reading

‘Fairness for Farmers’ campaign targets market power of big companies Buoyed by a Biden administration pledge to vigorously police agricultural mergers, the National Farmers Union launched the nationwide “Fairness for Farmers” campaign on Wednesday to restore competition in the marketplace. “This endeavor has clear goals: to curtail consolidation in agriculture… Continue reading

‘Rescue’ bill for county fairs wins committee support The House Agriculture Committee approved a bill on Tuesday to create a $500-million-a-year grant program to support local, county and state fairs that lost attendance and revenue due to the pandemic. An estimated 98 percent of the fairs were canceled last year… Continue reading

Labor Department starts work on heat safety rule Following what the White House called “a dangerously hot summer,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh announced on Monday the first step toward a federal standard to protect workers from exposure to excessive heat on the job. The work on a heat safety rule… Continue reading

Major economies pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent Eight countries plus the EU are supporters of the Global Methane Pledge, an initiative to reduce emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas by 30 percent by the end of this decade, said officials in Washington and Brussels over the weekend…. Continue reading