Vilsack encourages congressional creativity to break farm bill impasse
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he’s certain Congress will meet the Dec. 31 deadline to pass the farm bill or temporarily revive its predecessor, but it will require a dose of creativity to do it. Lawmakers have been deadlocked for weeks over farm group demands for a larger safety net when there are few ways to pay for it.
Project will help schools buy healthy food
The Urban School Food Alliance of 17 of the largest U.S. school districts will provide training to districts across the country on how to purchase high-quality food while keeping costs low, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Segregation and birds: Across the Los Angeles Basin, bird species are “remarkably segregated” as a legacy of racial bias in home lending decades ago and modern wealth disparities, say researchers. (Los Angeles Times)
EATS Act opponents: Sixteen House Republicans signed a letter opposing the so-called EATS Act, which would overturn California’s Proposition 12 animal welfare regulations, citing, among other concerns, the act’s possible benefits to Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods. (Farm Progress)
Gene editing takes on bird flu: British researchers reported promising results when they used gene editing to protect chickens from highly pathogenic avian influenza, although it appeared that several genes must be altered to achieve immunity. (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy)
New pumpkin record: For the second year in a row, Minnesota gardener Travis Gienger has grown the world’s largest pumpkin, this time a 2,749-pound monster that was 189 pounds heavier than last year’s winner at the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. (MPR News)
