Environment

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John Thune’s elevation to Senate Republican leader is being welcomed by many ag, biofuel and conservation groups. No Senate majority or minority leader has come to the job with a background in ag and biofuel policy as deep as the South Dakotan’s since, well, Thune unseated then-Democratic leader Tom Daschle in 2004.

Senate Republicans are slated to pick their new party leadership this morning in a closed-door, secret ballot election.  

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to overhaul key aspects of the Biden Administration's environmental policy, which could significantly affect the way public and private lands are managed.

Those in the agriculture industry believe that conservation programs will be largely unaffected by the incoming second Trump administration, with the fate of remaining Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding in the hands of Congress.

Farmers and ranchers could more than offset their greenhouse gas emissions by implementing conservation practices and emerging technologies, according to a report led by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action and released by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.

Lee Zeldin, who served as a congressman from Long Island for eight years before leaving to run a tight but unsuccessful race for governor of New York in 2022, is likely to be the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

President-elect Donald Trump has named former New York Republican congressman Lee Zeldin as his choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

The California Air Resources Board has approved a 20% limit on credits for renewable diesel produced from soybean, canola and sunflower oils, despite industry complaints that the cap was unnecessary and would increase the state's reliance on foreign feedstocks for biofuels.

Kip Tom, who leads President-elect Donald Trump’s ag coalition, says he expects the transition team to move much more quickly to fill cabinet positions. Whether Tom is going to be in it, perhaps as agriculture secretary, remains to be seen. He served as U.S. ambassador to the UN agriculture and food programs during the first Trump administration.

The speculation season has begun, with several names being floated for Agriculture Secretary in a new Trump administration. Leading the pack: Kip Tom, a former Ambassador to the United Nations, Indiana farmer and a leader of Trump’s ag coalition who celebrated Trump’s victory at Mar-a-Lago last night.