President Joe Biden is releasing his fiscal 2022 budget proposal today, less than six months before the new budget year starts. His budget will only cover discretionary spending – those programs that are subject to annual appropriations, which includes research and rural development programs at USDA.
The release of the budget will allow congressional appropriators to move ahead with writing their FY22 spending bills.
Watch Agri-Pulse.com today for the latest on the budget.
Groups seek big increase for NRCS technical assistance
A broad coalition that includes environmental groups, water regulators and farmers is urging Congress to boost funding significantly for technical assistance at the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
In addition to full funding for mandatory farm bill conservation programs, the coalition led by the National Association of Conservation Districts said NRCS should get at least $1.2 billion in FY22 discretionary funding for conservation operations, an increase of $300 million. That total would include $1.1 billion for conservation technical assistance.
“On-the-ground capacity at NRCS continues to be a limiting factor for conservation implementation,” the groups said in a letter to the House and Senate Ag Appropriations subcommittees.
Keep in mind: Without increased staffing, it’s going to be challenging for NRCS to distribute large increases in conservation program spending being proposed to speed the adoption of climate-friendly farming practices.
Durbin lauds Food Box program
The Farmers to Families Food Box program has picked up an endorsement from a key senator: Democratic Whip Dick Durbin. “I think the Trump Administration got it right,” he said Thursday during a webinar organized by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
The Illinois Democrat, who sits on both the Agriculture and Appropriations committees, said the program has been largely effective in aiding hungry people as well as farmers and food distributors. But he acknowledged the need to better involve minority and women farmers and target the areas of greatest need.
Kate Maehr, head of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, said the boxes need to be smaller and recipients should have the option to choose their own foods. “Do it in a way that honors people’s dignity, which also, by the way, can prevent food waste,” she said.
By the way: Produce and dairy groups, among others, are emphasizing the benefits of their products as USDA considers whether to continue the program in some form. USDA will have spent nearly $5 billion on the program by the end of April.
Granholm: Next-gen biofuels could power planes, ships
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says next-generation biofuels could smooth America’s path to net-zero emissions by 2050 by powering airplanes and ships that are difficult to electrify.
Granholm announced Thursday that DOE is offering $61.4 million in grants for research into technologies that convert biomass such as crop waste, food waste, and algae into a liquid fuel.
“Certainly, within five to ten years, we will be able to see this fully deployed for shipping and for air,” Granholm told reporters at the White House.
FDA issues action plan for baby foods
FDA is taking steps that could lead to new limits for toxic elements such as arsenic and lead in baby food. Under an agency action plan, FDA will first evaluate the scientific basis for such limits through a process that may include advisory committees, public workshops, and consultation with scientific experts.
The agency will start with arsenic and lead and then move to cadmium and mercury. FDA currently has a limit of 100 parts per billion of inorganic arsenic in baby rice cereals.
FDA stresses that there was no immediate health risk to babies and that the agency is “sensitive to the fact that requiring levels that are not currently feasible could result in significant reductions in the availability of nutritious, affordable foods.”
The agency says it will consult with stakeholders on proposed limits, “including the achievability and feasibility of action levels.”
By the way: Consumer Reports welcomed the FDA plan but said Congress should still pass a bill mandating that FDA set separate limits for the four toxic elements in baby cereal and all other baby foods.
China looks to improve seed quality, pork production
China’s Central Committee and State Council have laid out new agricultural priorities for 2021: Improve the quality of seeds – including biotech seeds – and pork production through the use of better livestock genetics, according to a report by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
The latest edition of China’s “No. 1 Document,” which is released annually, instructs the Chinese Agriculture Ministry to support “commercialized seed research, breeding, production, and promotion of new seed varieties.” That, FAS says, will take “substantial investment remains to be made in this sector to support domestic innovation and wide-spread adoption of intellectual property right norms.
The call for modernizing the country’s pork production comes as China continues to battle outbreaks of African swine fever.
Pork prices rise on optimism for post-pandemic demand
There’s going to be less pork on the U.S. market this year, but demand is rising quickly as consumers look forward to dining out more, and that demand is already pushing pork prices up, according to an analysis by the National Pork Board.
“With COVID-19, it’s a host of variables that have caused a scramble for raw materials,” the group says. “This includes the quick rollout of vaccines, expected recovery in foodservice demand, another round of stimulus checks, warmer weather, low freezer inventories and consumers’ new-found appetite for meat.”
Keep in mind: Pork demand has been strong over the past year as meat consumption rose even as people stayed home during the worst of the pandemic. Tara-Ann Dugan, a director at the pork checkoff, says 70% of consumers are eating or preparing bacon at least once a month.
She said it. “Countries like China are pressing their foot on the pedal and revving up their electric engines, and they are thrilled to see that the United States is standing still while they are working to create jobs for their people.” – Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, asserting the U.S. is falling behind in clean energy development.
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