EPA is given 60 days to ban or modify rules for chlorpyrifos fter blasting the EPA for “13 years of interminable delay,” the federal appeals court in San Francisco on Thursday set a 60-day deadline for the agency to either ban agricultural use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos or set newer… Continue reading

Biden seeks full-scale summer food program for children Building on P-EBT benefits created in response to the coronavirus, President Biden proposed a vast expansion of the USDA’s summer food program on Wednesday that would be available to the 22 million children who eat school meals for free or at a… Continue reading

Trump-backed legal group sues for debt relief for white farmers With Texas agriculture commissioner Sid Miller as the plaintiff, a Trump-aligned legal group on Tuesday challenged the $4 billion debt-relief plan approved by Congress for Black and minority farmers, saying it was unconstitutional. “Americans of all races and ethnicities must… Continue reading

Transplanted USDA agencies will stay in Kansas City, says Vilsack Despite complaints the Trump administration needlessly uprooted them, two USDA research agencies will stay in Kansas City rather than return to the D.C. area, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. Child-hunger advocates hope Biden’s expansion of P-EBT becomes a… Continue reading

House Ag chairman: Use tax code to encourage purchases from Black farmers Black farmers “don’t have access to the same markets our white farmers have,” said House Agriculture chairman David Scott, but the tax code could put them on equal footing. Scott is working on legislation to offer tax incentives… Continue reading

Biden seeks 50 percent cut in U.S. emissions, sees farming as carbon frontier By deploying clean technology, the United States can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by the end of this decade, said President Biden at an Earth Day summit intended to spark global action on climate change…. Continue reading

USDA harnesses Conservation Reserve for climate mitigation The USDA said it will offer higher rental rates and larger incentive payments to landowners who agree to idle environmentally fragile farmland and introduced a new payment for climate-smart practices to slow climate change. The expansions would boost spending on the Conservation Reserve… Continue reading

Bringing broadband to all rural Americans could cost up to $150 billion President Biden proposed $100 billion in his infrastructure plan to make high-speed internet available throughout America, but industry officials said at a congressional hearing on Tuesday that it could cost up to $150 billion to fill the gaps… Continue reading

Calls for rural broadband and climate mitigation as pandemic aid hits $24 billion Rural communities “must have access to broadband” to succeed and climate mitigation provides an opportunity for rural jobs, said a letter drafted for House Agriculture Committee approval on Tuesday. Eliminate time limit on food stamps for ABAWDs,… Continue reading

Biden nominates USDA climate adviser to oversee farm supports Robert Bonnie, named USDA climate adviser on the same day President Biden took office, will soon be in charge of all farm support programs, from land stewardship to farm subsidies and crop insurance, if confirmed by the Senate. Biden nominated Bonnie… Continue reading