Biden announces $2 billion in USDA discrimination payments
The government has issued $2 billion in payments to more than 43,000 farmers who suffered discrimination when they applied for USDA farm loans in the past, said President Biden on Wednesday. More than half of the recipients were producers in Mississippi and Alabama, who received a combined $905.5 million.
Multiyear run of low corn and soybean prices looms
Corn and soybean farmers should plan for much lower market prices for their crops in the near term, given trends in the futures markets, said six analysts writing at the farmdoc daily blog. “We may be again entering a period of lower prices, like that from 2014 through 2019,” they said.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Congressional contest tightens: The race in Colorado’s 8th U.S. House district between Republican Gabe Evans and first-term Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, has tightened to a toss-up. (Sabato’s Crystal Ball)
45Z plan before farm bill: Chances are “pretty good” that the IRS will issue guidelines for 45Z tax credits for low-carbon fuels, which start with 2025 crops, before Congress enacts the new farm bill, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. (USDA)
EPA facing RFS lawsuit: Growth Energy, a biofuels trade group, filed a notice of intent to sue the EPA over its apparent plan to set the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2026 only weeks before it would take effect and a year later than required by law. (Growth Energy)
Urban farm support: San Francisco County, the most urbanized in California, now has its own Farm Bureau, an organization typically found in rural areas. San Francisco has 100 urban farms and community gardens. (Times of San Diego)
Grassland grants: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $22.8 million in grants that will be combined with $42 million in matching contributions to protect grasslands and wildlife in five U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. (NFWF)
