Agriculture Policy News
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Leaders at Senate Ag Hearing Urge Passage of the Bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act
Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hosted a hearing on the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act, where prominent agricultural leaders urged passage of the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act. U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Committee, and Mike Braun (R-IN), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, and ...
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Chairman Roberts Hears Agricultural Perspectives on Climate Legislation
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today held a hearing on S. 3894, The Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2020. “Maintaining the health of our planet for future generations is, of course, of paramount importance. So is feeding the billions of people that populate the Earth today and in the years ahead,” said ...
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Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement on the Grain Standards Reauthorization
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the business meeting to consider the U.S. Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020. Stabenow’s statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you Mr. Chairman for your leadership and bipartisan work on this bill. We ...
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Taking Stock: free resilience workshops for livestock farmers
The Soil Association is hosting Taking Stock, a programme of free online workshops for beef and lamb producers in the South West to help prepare for the coming changes and opportunities as we leave the Common Agricultural Policy. The first part of the programme, which is funded by Defra, is a 90 minute webinar that will cover: Is it all about the money? How the proposed changes to payments to ...
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BIO’s Dr. Clint Nesbitt Named to APLU-AAVMC Task Force on Gene Editing in Animal Agriculture
Dr. Clint Nesbitt, Senior Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs for Food & Agriculture at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), was named today to a Task Force on Gene Editing in Animal Agriculture. The Task Force is being led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). “We applaud ...
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Senators Raise Questions about the Trump Administration’s Food Box Program
Today, a group of ten Senators led by U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, raised questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farmers to Families Food Box Program. “As you know, COVID-19 has caused great hardship for farmers and families across the ...
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DGA Update: USDA Assistance Program Signups Now Open
The USDA has announced Coronavirus Food Assistance Program details. Sign-ups for this program started on May 26 and runs through Aug. 28. There are payments ($16 billion in total) for dairy, livestock, commodity crops, specialty crops and wool. Payments will be prorated at 80 percent upfront and 20 percent later in the year. Organic dairy is expected to be treated, in this context, like any other ...
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Ranking Member Stabenow Introduces Legislation to Protect America’s Food Supply
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, introduced legislation to help protect the food supply after the COVID-19 crisis has put an unprecedented strain on farmers, workers, food banks, and families. “The COVID-19 crisis has tested the strength of our nation’s food supply chain, creating a ripple effect ...
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USDA Issues Biobased Manufacturing Program Rule in Final
On May 18, 2020, USDA issued its final rule for the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program (9003 Program), which incorporates the statutory definition changes as required in the Agricultural Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) and adopts the interim rule published on June 14, 2015. The 9003 Program replaces the Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP), which ...
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Final SECURE Rule Will Update and Modernize USDA’s Biotechnology Regulations
On May 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued the much-anticipated final Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule. 85 Fed. Reg. 29790. The rule is intended to update and modernize USDA’s biotechnology regulations under the Plant Protection Act. The final rule amends the ...
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As the Trump Administration Pressures Meat Processing Plants to Open, Senators Urge Action to Ensure Worker Safety
Today, a group of 29 Democratic Senators led by U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, raised new concerns about the Trump Administration’s Executive Order that has pressured meat processing plants to open without verifying the necessary safety measures to protect workers and the food supply. In a letter to U.S. ...
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Ranking Member Stabenow Statement on USDA Appeal of Harmful Food Assistance Rule
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released a statement regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to appeal a court ruling that has halted a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition rule. The rule would make harmful changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “It is ...
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USDA Report States that Brexit will not change Policies Affecting GE Plants
On April 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a report titled “Agricultural Biotechnology Annual,” which argues that under any scenario, the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) separation from the EU (Brexit) is unlikely to change policy or trade in genetically engineered (GE) industries. According to the report prepared by USDA’s Jennifer Wilson, given the ...
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Growing Climate Solutions Act set to be introduced in U.S. Senate
Today, U.S. Senators Mike Braun (R-IN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will introduce the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which will break down barriers for farmers and foresters interested in participating in carbon markets so they can be rewarded for climate-smart practices. The bill has the support of the American Farm Bureau Federation, National ...
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Salmon provide nutrients to Alaskan streambanks
Adult Pacific salmon spend a great portion of their life in the ocean. But their life began along the banks of freshwater streams. Their life will end there, as well. These important steps in the lifecycle of salmon play a role in the health of streambank ecosystems. David D’Amore and a team of scientists studied how different soils respond to the delivery of “salmon-derived ...
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Farmers and Nonprofits Sue Trump`s USDA Over Organic Soil-Less Loophole
Today, Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with a coalition of organic farms and stakeholders, filed a lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) decision to allow hydroponic operations to be certified organic. The lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate organic standards for failing to build heathy soils, and asks the Court to stop USDA from allowing ...
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Plácido Plaza elected CIHEAM Secretary General
On 22 February 2019, at the 42nd Governing Board meeting of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) held in Paris, Plácido Plaza was elected unanimously as new Secretary General of the CIHEAM. The Spanish authorities’ candidate will take up office on 1st March 2019, for a first term of four years, after completing an interim period. With his ...
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Groups Sue Farm Service Agency for Concealing Records on Funding of Industrial Animal Ag
Today, a group of advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit against the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to stop its systematic delay and over-redaction of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) responses. Advocacy groups have long been seeking loan-related records to understand how taxpayer dollars are propping up industrial animal agriculture operations at the expense of small family farms. FSA's illegal ...
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Do soils need a low-salt diet?
Doctors often tell their patients to reduce their salt intake as part of a healthy lifestyle. When we start looking at food labels, we may find salt in surprising places – like baked goods, drinks and canned foods. While you may try to keep an eye on your personal salt intake, you have probably never given much thought to how much salt there is in the soil under your feet. As many people ...
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Forest soils recovering from effects of acid rain
Before the United States 1970 Clean Air Act, rainfall all over the country was acidic. As precipitation would fall from the sky, it would mix with gases from industrial plants, emissions from cars, and especially coal and fossil fuel consumption. That caused the water to become acidic – also called “acid rain.” Besides the air pollution hurting plants and humans, this acid rain ...
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