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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Friday, August 16, 2024
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has been minimizing concerns that the existing level of foreign ownership of American farmland is a serious risk, saying the bigger issue is farmland being scooped up by “billionaires and Wall Street.”
The Senate has advanced a bill that would reauthorize a slate of conservation grant programs that fund Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts, assistance for producers that lose livestock to endangered predators, and wetlands conservation projects.
House and Senate agriculture committee leaders are providing glimpses into their intentions for the future of farm bill conservation programs through dueling proposals and, while some details are limited, they suggest notable changes to longstanding programs like the Conservation Reserve Program as well as the creation of new ones.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson works to build the case this week for a farm bill that so far lacks any Democratic support ahead of the panel’s scheduled votes May 23.
Livestock producers who lose unborn animals to weather-related disasters would qualify for aid through the Livestock Indemnity Program under a farm bill proposal that two Texas lawmakers are introducing following the wildfires that scorched the state's panhandle this year, killing more than 7,000 adult cattle.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is working its way through state-level proposals that seek grants from a $42.45 billion program aimed at building out broadband networks in underserved areas.
Animal rights activists are trying to make Sonoma County, California, which is legendary the world over for its wine, the first county in the nation to ban concentrated animal feeding operations by a public vote.
Last week, the EPA took a major step in addressing PFAS contamination by finalizing a national drinking water standard for some chemicals. The next step for stakeholders will focus on funding water systems to meet the new standards. While the Biden administration has opened additional funds for this task, water systems say it’s not enough.