Climate programs will be voluntary, incentive-based, says USDA nominee The USDA’s climate mitigation initiatives will be built on a simple rule: “If they don’t work for producers and landowners, they’re not going to work for the climate,” said Robert Bonnie, the Biden nominee to run the USDA’s crop subsidy and… Continue reading

USDA puts $67 million to new program for heirs’ property owners The Department of Agriculture on Thursday will announce $67 million in funding for owners of heirs’ property, aiming to address a leading cause of land loss among Black and low-income farmers. “The key here is for it to work,”… Continue reading

House panel approves $8.5 billion disaster bill for agriculture Responding to calamities that range from drought in the West to floods in the Southeast, the House Agriculture Committee approved an $8.5 billion disaster relief bill on Tuesday to cover farm and ranch losses in 2020 and this year. Producers would… Continue reading

Committee clears Biden nominee Moffitt for vote in Senate Jennifer Moffitt, who would give farmers more leverage through USDA rules in dealing with meat processors, is one step away — a favorable vote in the Senate — from becoming agriculture undersecretary for marketing. Carbon credit market needs better standards –… Continue reading

ERS: Nearly $58 billion to farmers in pandemic year When crop insurance indemnities and unemployment benefits are counted, the government sent $57.7 billion to farm operations and farm households in 2020, while the pandemic sent the U.S. economy into recession, said a working paper by USDA economists. It was the… Continue reading

Party-line committee split may not halt vote on BLM nominee President Biden’s choice to run the Bureau of Land Management will face a confirmation vote in the Senate without the committee endorsement given to nearly all nominees. After a heated debate that one senator called “a skunk fight,” the Senate… Continue reading

Republicans oppose ag labor bill as ‘amnesty’ Senate Republicans threw up barriers on Wednesday to a House-passed bill that would give legal status to undocumented farmworkers and streamline the H-2A guestworker program. They called for action first to tighten control of the U.S.-Mexico border and vowed to vote against “amnesty”… Continue reading

More pandemic aid on tap for agriculture, says Vilsack Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced up to $200 million in pandemic relief for loggers and timber haulers on Tuesday and said “there is more to come” for agriculture in the weeks ahead. Aid will include $700 million for biofuel producers and… Continue reading

USDA tops $7 billion in pandemic aid in four months With Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement of coronavirus aid to logging and timber hauling businesses, the USDA will near $7.4 billion in pandemic assistance since the Biden administration put its mark on the relief programs. Green groups sue EPA over… Continue reading

RFS must consider impact on biodiversity, court tells EPA In a victory for environmental groups, a federal appeals court told the EPA to consider the effect of the ethanol mandate on endangered animals and plants. The ruling applied to the 2019 RFS but held implications for the agency’s development of… Continue reading