Cover Crops

RSS

A new farm operating loan will come with a lower interest rate to producers who achieve certain climate change and water quality benchmarks.

USDA is far from the only part of the federal government with authority in areas affecting the ag and food industries. Farmers and agribusiness in general need to keep a close eye on what comes out of the Environmental Protection Agency, Labor Department, Interior Department and Food and Drug Administration.

Conservation groups and the Biden administration  are betting big that the promise of direct payments to farmers will supercharge their interest in cover crops, a practice relatively few have tried despite documented benefits to soil health, greenhouse emissions and water quality.

This is the third part of a four-part series examining the promise of cover crops, the potential for them to meet the nation’s environmental goals that rest on their success, and the possible pitfalls facing policymakers.

A new report examining adoption of conservation practices on U.S. farmland shows the steep challenge faced in implementing climate-smart programs to reduce greenhouse gases.

This is the second part of our four-part series looking at the promise of cover crops and the challenges that farmers face.

This is the first part of a four-part series examining the promise of cover crops, the potential for them to meet the nation’s environmental goals that rest on their success, and the potential pitfalls and unintended consequences of trying to make cover crops work in parts of the country where they currently don’t.

Georgia’s runoff election on Tuesday featuring a Senate Agriculture Committee member and the cousin of Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue will decide control of the U.S. Senate and go a long way in determining the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda.

The coronavirus pandemic was top of mind for nearly every aspect of the global economy in 2020, and farm policy stakeholders were keeping a close eye on Agri-Pulse’s coverage of the virus and legislative efforts to lessen its blow throughout the year.