USDA estimates nearly 1.2 million households could be eligible for disaster SNAP benefits following Hurricane Helene.
The agency announced Tuesday that residents in parts of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee may be eligible for D-SNAP relief, and outlined plans to operate the program in different counties. The program expands benefits to individuals typically ineligible for SNAP if they meet certain criteria like disaster income limits and qualifying disaster-related expenses.
Applicants must live or work in an identified disaster area, have been impacted by the disaster and meet eligibility criteria. Households will receive one month of benefits for groceries.
An estimated 982,930 households in Georgia, 152,572 in North Carolina and 54,692 in Tennessee are eligible for the program.
“USDA is committed to making sure that families, farmers and communities impacted by recent hurricanes get the support they need, including help with grocery expenses as people grapple with significant disruption to their lives,” Secretary Tom Vilsack says in a release.
In White House meeting, AFBF pushes for domestic feedstock requirement
Farm groups urged White House representatives to prioritize domestic crops in sustainable fuel production during a Tuesday meeting arranged by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Leaders from AFBF, National Corn Growers Association and American Soybean Association met with John Podesta, senior adviser to President Joe Biden for clean energy innovation. There, they urged the administration to move quickly on including a domestic feedstock requirement in the upcoming Clean Fuels Production Credit, or 45Z, which takes effect next year.
The current guidelines for clean fuel tax credits don’t require domestically grown feedstocks, and reporting requirements have boxed out many U.S. farmers, AFBF President Zippy Duvall says in a release. This has led to an increase in imported feedstocks and benefited foreign companies, he continued.
The groups want the administration to put out 45Z guidance quickly so farmers can decide if they want to participate in the program. The groups also want revisions to make producing biofuels more accessible for domestic producers.
Clean fuel credits “have the potential to be valuable incentives to produce homegrown biofuels that will help lower the nation’s carbon emissions and keep America’s farmers economically sustainable, but improvements are needed,” Duvall said. “These are tax credits that should benefit Americans, not foreign companies.”
USDA internal watchdog opens probe into regulation of Boar’s Head facility
USDA’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating the department’s and the state of Virginia’s handling of repeated food safety violations at a now-closed Boar’s Head facility linked with a deadly listeria outbreak.
The OIG’s goal is to determine whether USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services had an effective process to take action for reported noncompliances at the facility and to elevate and address recurring noncompliances reported at state-inspected facilities.
The move follows calls from Connecticut Democrats Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro for USDA and DOJ to consider bringing criminal charges against Boar’s Head for its role in the listeria outbreak linked to its Jarratt, Virginia facility.
Read more about the investigation here.
Trump claims Deere backed off Mexico plans
John Deere’s decision to move manufacturing of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders to Mexico is back in the news.
In an interview at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump said the company had announced it would not be building plants in Mexico. “I said if John Deere builds those plants, they're not selling anything into the United States. They just announced yesterday they're probably not going to build the plants.”
However, Deere has not made such an announcement. A company spokesperson would not comment on the matter Tuesday.
Take note: Trump previously threatened a 200% tariff on John Deere farm equipment produced in Mexico if the company did move forward with the plans.
BLM, NRCS to monitor rangeland conditions
The Bureau of Land Management is planning a $7.6 million agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to monitor rangeland conditions across the West.
The two agencies plan to collect 3,000 data points with the hope of establishing baseline conditions that can be used to analyze changes over time, according to a release.
BLM will also provide $7.4 million for partnerships with states to evaluate riparian, stream, river and wetland health. Nearly 700 monitoring sites are planned in rivers, while 625 will be located in wetlands and riparian areas.
REAP funding available through fiscal 2027
USDA has announced application deadlines for $600 million in funding available through fiscal year 2027 under the Rural Energy for America program.
In a Federal Register notice today, USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service says projects receiving Inflation Reduction Act grant funding are eligible for up to $1 million for a Renewable Energy Systems grant and up to $500,000 for energy efficiency improvements.
USDA said it would dole out about $200 million in grants, guaranteed loans, and combined grant and guaranteed loans per year.
