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A revised climate funding package Democrats are pushing through the Senate this weekend scraps a debt relief program for minority farmers that was blocked by the courts and replaces it with new programs earmarked for “distressed” USDA borrowers as well as farmers the department has discriminated against.

The climate funding package that Senate Democrats expect to pass this weekend will include $4 billion in drought-related funding for the Bureau of Reclamation.

PPIC is sparking new conversations about innovative solutions that keep farmers farming and avoid devastating environmental and health impacts from SGMA fallowing, but some of the challenges are daunting.

California is the latest state to benefit from federal spending on locally sourced products for food banks, receiving a $43 million investment from USDA—the largest to date.

A Foundation created under the 2014 farm bill released a large grant to support studies on regenerative agriculture in vineyards.  

The Department of Agriculture invites urban producers and the public to attend the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production’s second public meeting on August 5.

The California Association of Winegrape Growers has appointed Natalie Collins as interim president and the California Table Grape Commission promoted Alyson Dias to the new position of chief marketing officer.

The landmark climate deal Democrats hope will clear Congress in coming days would upend the coming debate over the next farm bill, satisfying demands for new conservation spending but leaving farm groups still scrambling to fund enhancements in commodity programs.

The nation’s producers are feeling a little better about the state of farm finances but are still a little worried about the prices they’ll receive for their commodities, and those they will have to pay for important inputs in the next year.