Environment

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President Joe Biden is nominating to the Supreme Court appellate judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a history-making pick who once upheld mandatory country of origin labeling requirements for meat.

Five seed companies are seeking damages from Nebraska ethanol company AltEn and related businesses and individuals for cleanup of pesticide-contaminated materials and wastewater at the company’s Mead, Nebraska, site.

The Transportation Department is announcing today that it’s making $450 million in grant funds available this year to expand port capacity, and some of that money may go towards improving the ability of ag exporters to ship commodities to overseas buyers, according to senior government officials.

Companies and farm groups that are trying to recruit farmers to sign up for climate plans often face skeptical producers who fear that most, if not all, of the financial benefit will go to retailers and manufacturers who get to label their products as good for the environment.

Farmers will be banned from applying chlorpyrifos to food crops starting Monday unless farm groups can persuade an appeals court to intervene, and experts say many growers lack reliable alternatives for controlling insect pests.

Bayer has announced it has entered into a distribution agreement with MS Technologies to offer soybeans containing the Enlist E3 trait to its customers, beginning in the 2023 growing season.

The value of the U.S. industrial hemp crop in 2021 was $824 million, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its first report on the cannabis crop that was legalized in the 2018 farm bill.

Supporters and critics of the Renewable Fuel Standard sparred Wednesday over whether RFS ethanol blending requirements contribute to higher gasoline prices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, at a Senate hearing examining the law.

A Senate committee will be debating biofuel policy today amid concerns about the Biden administration’s implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard and a new study that has raised fresh criticism of ethanol mandates.

Producers, lawmakers, and administration staffers all agree on the benefits of the technical assistance provided by Agriculture Department conservation officials. The only issue is getting the funding – and the people – to make it happen.