Funding for farm bill conservation programs has risen sharply, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. But demand is growing, too.
Fewer than one-third of applicants were able to secure contracts through the Environmental Quality Incentives and Conservation Stewardship programs in fiscal 2023, despite a $500 million increase in funding authorized by the IRA. That’s the finding of a new report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service enrolled 34,222 producers in EQIP in FY2023, an increase of 2,366 from FY22.
Keep in mind: The IRA added $1.65 billion for EQIP in FY24 and $472 million for CSP.
For more details on demand for the programs, be sure and read our weekly Agri-Pulse newsletter today. We also report on the Red Sea and Panama Canal disruptions and look into a growing battle over proposed new packing plant regulations.
House GOP struggles to get tax bill across finish line
House Speaker Mike Johnson has his hands full trying to get the bipartisan tax bill on the House floor for a vote. On Tuesday, some New York Republicans delayed a procedural motion on an unrelated bill amid reports that they’re demanding the tax deal include an increase in the deduction limit for state and local taxes, an issue that’s a non-starter for many conservatives.
The bill ultimately could be considered via the suspension process, which will require a two-thirds majority and shouldn’t be hard to get. But the willingness of a small number of Republicans to use routine procedural measures for negotiating leverage continues to slow down the GOP agenda.
By the way: A senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Nebraska Republican Adrian Smith, says the tax bill serves as a bridge to next week’s expiration of key provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The latest bill includes several business provisions, including a temporary restoration of 100% bonus depreciation and immediate deduction of R&D investments.
“It's important for our economy, whether it's agriculture operations, or whether it's manufacturing,” Smith said of the bill.
Smith told Agri-Pulse he reminds GOP colleagues existing tax provisions wouldn’t expire in 2025 had the Senate gone along with the House in 2017 and made them permanent. Setting expiration dates on tax breaks reduced their cost, but it also created uncertainty about their future. “When we can think longer term, I think we're better off,” Smith said.
EPA dropping paraquat report Thursday
EPA is releasing a preliminary analysis this week on the impacts of paraquat, including the herbicide’s potential to contribute to the development of Parkinson’s Disease.
The agency says in the Federal Register it will be posting the document online Thursday to address concerns raised by plaintiffs in a case in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that challenges EPA’s 2021 interim decision. That decision imposed certain mitigation measures on paraquat so it could meet the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act’s standard for registration.
There are currently more than 5,000 lawsuits pending in the federal courts, many alleging a connection between paraquat exposure and subsequent development of Parkinson’s.
Meanwhile: The latest Pesticide Data Program annual summary shows that less than 1% of tested samples had pesticide residues above tolerances levels established by EPA for food items.
Tests were conducted on 10,665 samples from 23 commodities, including fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, dairy, nuts, and grains.
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Take note: In one special project, USDA conducted residue testing on 309 corn grain samples, finding glyphosate in 73, or 23.6%, of them. Glyphosate was detected in 91.8% of soybean samples. Residues detected were well below the tolerance levels.
Administration officials defend Snake River plan
A top White House adviser was on Capitol Hill Tuesday to defend the Biden administration's $1 billion proposal to halt a 22-year-long legal dispute over declining salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Brenda Mallory, who chairs the Council on Environmental Quality, told lawmakers the plan would “secure 10 years of stability for river users,” something that hasn’t been possible because of the litigation.
The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, proposed in December, would fund fish restoration efforts and tribal clean energy projects, implement changes to federal hydropower operations, and create studies analyzing how to offset the transportation, recreation, and irrigation impacts resulting from the potential removal of four dams on the lower Snake River. It doesn’t directly call for dam breaching, which would require congressional approval, Mallory told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
“I think that we were very clear in the agreement that we believe we need congressional authority to move forward on dam removal,” Mallory said. “So I think, as we’ve been saying, the purpose of the agreement was to try to take advantage of this 10-year period to allow the important studies to be developed that would support Congress considering the issue.”
From the other side: Pacific Northwestern Waterways Association Executive Director Neil Maunu, whose organization represents ports, shippers and farmers in the region, argued in his testimony that the document treats breaching four dams on the lower Snake River "as a foregone conclusion.” He estimates that removing the dams could "increase the national grain shipping cost” by 20 to 40 cents per bushel, or about $60 million per year.
Listeria outbreak in stone fruit declared over
FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say a listeria outbreak in stone fruit that resulted in one death and 10 other hospitalization is over.
The outbreak was linked to recalled peaches, plums and nectarines. States with cases include California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio
He said it. “If you’re the majority, you need to control the floor.”– House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., on the difficulty of carrying out the GOP agenda when Republicans can’t pass the rules for debating bills, or must bypass the rules process entirely, due to the party’s fractious conference. That ultimately gives minority Democrats more power in the House, Cole told reporters.
