Month: March 2021

SNAP and P-EBT surged to 12 percent of grocery spending during pandemic Two months into the pandemic, roughly $1 in $8 spent on groceries in the United States came from the federal food assistance programs, SNAP and the newly created Pandemic EBT (P-EBT), compared to $1 of every $14 beforehand,… Continue reading

Rural broadband is on Biden’s infrastructure list President Biden plans to announce a plan to modernize U.S. infrastructure on Wednesday in Pittsburgh, with a dramatic expansion of rural broadband expected to be part of the package. Broadband service increasingly is seen as essential to rural prosperity and even survival.  … Continue reading

Vilsack on ag trade with China: ‘They need us’ Although China has yet to fulfill its “phase one” promises of mammoth purchases of U.S. farm exports, “the fact is, they need us,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a digital news conference. He added that, with China back in the… Continue reading

Debt relief will be distributed as quickly, carefully as possible, says Vilsack The USDA will disburse up to $4 billion in Biden-backed loan forgiveness to minority farmers as speedily as possible, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the first-ever House Agriculture Committee hearing on the state of Black farmers. Farm… Continue reading

USDA announces $12 billion in pandemic aid, aims for ‘a broader set of producers’ Following through on pledges of more equitable aid to agriculture, the Biden administration has created a new Pandemic Assistance for Producers program to distribute more than $12 billion in cash. It said on Wednesday that it… Continue reading

Climate mitigation on USDA conservation programs, senator suggests The government should use USDA conservation programs as the starting point for climate mitigation on the farm and “tread lightly” with unproven ideas like a carbon bank, said the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday.   USDA hits ‘pause’… Continue reading

Debt relief is just the first step toward racial equity in agriculture, say senators The federal promise of $4 billion in debt relief for minority farmers, part of the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, is a step toward justice, said three Democratic senators on Monday. They said the… Continue reading

USDA data paint a nuanced portrait of absentee landlords In agricultural lore, the absentee landlord is often a resented figure, an outsider who reaps income from the labor of the farmer and takes away the profits rather than investing in the local community. The modern-day situation is more nuanced, says… Continue reading

Stabenow, Boozman urge Congress to make child nutrition a priority this year Debbie Stabenow, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and John Boozman, the committee’s ranking Republican, said on Thursday that Congress should apply the lessons learned during the pandemic to strengthen and expand key child nutrition policies this year…. Continue reading

Vilsack calls for structural changes in U.S. food distribution systems to deal with hunger, equity Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stressed the need for structural changes to U.S. food distribution systems in order to tackle hunger, strengthen equity, and increase access to school meals during his keynote address Wednesday at the… Continue reading