Coronavirus requires a ‘massive response,’ Pelosi tells the NFU Six months into the pandemic, America needs a “massive response” to the coronavirus to keep the economy running, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday speaking to the National Farmers Union. “You can’t have a skinny deal,” said Pelosi.   Rural… Continue reading

In farm-state victory, EPA denies retro-exemptions from biofuel mandate The EPA rejected more than four dozen requests by small petroleum refiners for retroactive exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard, said agency chief Andrew Wheeler on Monday in a decision that potentially expands the sale of corn-based ethanol.   Half-a-billion dollars… Continue reading

Derecho blows away expectations of a record-setting U.S. corn crop The windstorm that blasted across Iowa — “basically a 40 mile-wide tornado,” in the words of Gov. Kim Reynolds — wiped out 9 percent of the crop in the nation’s No. 1 corn state and obliterated the chances for a… Continue reading

Is America’s food supply safe from terrorist attacks? No. The United States spends more than $1 billion every year to keep America’s food supply safe, but even without terrorism, food-borne diseases cause about 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…. Continue reading

Siding with farmers, Trump tells EPA to deny retroactive biofuel waiver requests With an eye toward shoring up Farm Belt support less than two months before the election, President Trump directed the EPA to deny dozens of oil refiner requests for retroactive waivers from U.S. biofuel laws, Reuters reported on… Continue reading

Vilsack highlights Biden’s support of ethanol Democrat Tom Vilsack, the former agriculture secretary and Iowa governor, made a virtual campaign sweep through the farm state last week on behalf of Joe Biden, emphasizing that the Democratic presidential nominee was a friend of ethanol.   Pandemic paradox: As food poverty rises,… Continue reading

Perdue gets blank check for ag aid Senate Republicans proposed $20 billion in additional aid to agriculture in their new coronavirus package on Monday, leaving it to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to allot the money. The proposed increase in farm aid came as the USDA released figures showing that it… Continue reading

(USDA / Ag Insider) The first Labor Day celebration was a big parade held on September 5, 1882 in New York City. Organized by trade unions to impress employers and politicians, it overlooked farmers even though 49 percent of American workers were employed on farms at the time.   In… Continue reading

Risk of ‘food nationalism’ as coronavirus pandemic sweeps world The world’s grain reserves are large, with a bumper crop on the horizon, but the coronavirus pandemic has already inspired agricultural protectionism in a small number of countries, said analysts in a think tank paper this week. Separately, former Agriculture Undersecretary… Continue reading

USDA to release coronavirus reserve funds, makes more products eligible More than half a million farmers and ranchers will get a second round of coronavirus relief payments, worth an estimated $1.4 billion, said the Agriculture Department on Tuesday as it made dozens of additional commodities eligible for aid and gave… Continue reading