GOP powers House committee passage of Farm Bill with $53 billion in new ag spending
The Republican-controlled House Agriculture Committee, with four Democratic crossovers, approved a farm bill early Friday that increases crop subsidy and crop insurance spending by one-third, cuts SNAP by $30 billion, and repudiates a Biden administration initiative on climate mitigation. Democrats said the bill has no chance of becoming law and might not survive a vote on the House floor because it lacks bipartisan support.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Bird flu in 58 herds: The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in six additional dairy herds, raising the U.S. total to 58 infected herds. Michigan has the most, 19, an increase of four. (USDA)
Funding for domestic fertilizer: The USDA announced $83 million for projects in 12 states to expand U.S. fertilizer production, ranging from a liquid fertilizer plant in Florida to a facility in California that would convert food waste to fertilizer. (USDA)
Drought persists in Kansas: While conditions are improving in the Midwest, Kansas, the No. 1 winter wheat producer, is locked in drought, with 48 percent of the state in moderate to extreme drought. (Drought Monitor)
Gene-edited wheat in Canada: The Canadian agriculture ministry, looking to develop spring wheat varieties that more efficiently respond to sunlight, is growing its first plots of gene-edited wheat at a research center in Alberta. (Western Producer)
