USDA asks, is it time for Food Box 2.0?
After spending nearly $5.5 billion in 10 months on its Farmers to Families Food Box program, the USDA said on Monday it was open to suggestions on a replacement. “While the food box effort served some communities well, it faced challenges in others,” said the Agricultural Marketing Service, which oversees the food giveaway.
After 20 years of advocacy, Black farmers finally get debt relief
Congress could pass as early as today one of the most sweeping relief programs for minority farmers in the nation’s history, through a provision of President Biden’s pandemic stimulus bill. Although the landmark legislation, which would cancel $4 billion worth of debt, seemed to emerge out of nowhere, it actually is the result of more than 20 years of organizing by Black farmers.
Smithfield pork plant in LA faces rolling Covid-19 outbreak
A coronavirus outbreak at the Farmer John pork processing plant in Los Angeles County that began nearly a year ago has been the focus of two state investigations. Cases at the Smithfield Foods-owned plant have more than doubled — with over 300 cases reported in January alone — as the county has become a Covid-19 epicenter.
Today’s Quick Hits
Specialty crops > row crops: For the second congressional session in a row, the House Agriculture subcommittee on biotechnology, horticulture and research has more members than the subcommittee on general farm commodities and risk management. The difference in membership, 20 vs 13, may signal a change in interest in how food is produced. (FERN’s Ag Insider)
Blunt to retire: Two-term Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, said in a video he will not run for re-election in 2022. He is the fifth Republican senator to announce retirement. (Kansas City Star)
Big bank bet: In “a potentially catastrophic blind spot,” global banks and investment firms are putting money into food and farming corporations tied to deforestation and greenhouse gases. (InsideClimate News)
Still understaffed: Two USDA research agencies have 235 job vacancies following their relocation to Kansas City and their flow of information has slowed, causing some farmers to look elsewhere for data to use in running their operations. (Associated Press)
Questions about funding: The White House budget office proposal to reclassify 255 counties as rural rather than metropolitan has generated questions how the change would affect federal funding for local governments. (Daily Yonder)
