Opinion

RSS

The nation’s land-grant universities face a threat from the United States Department of Agriculture’s decision to move its research arm and its economics bureau away from D.C.

Global food security is an enormous challenge not only because it refers to our responsibility to feed a rapidly growing population, but because we must also do so sustainably in ever-changing conditions.

Let’s just say it: I have always been a nerd. For non-nerds, this may not sizzle; but for those who understand the value of good farming for a better environment, this is going to be huge. This month, a bipartisan group of Senators worked together with the USDA to make a common sense fix on regulations for farmers, which will ultimately be a victory for clean water, cover crops (and nerds).

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to calls from our community to reconsider its role in regulating gene editing technology in animal agriculture. Despite the Trump administration’s recent directive to streamline costly and overly burdensome regulations that inhibit innovation and investment, FDA maintains it is unwilling to cede any regulatory control of this important technology.

For farmers and ranchers living under the uncertainty of the 2015 Waters of the United States rule, this year could bring relief to an ongoing state of regulatory confusion. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers are reviewing over 600,000 public comments on a revised definition of WOTUS that aims to replace the detrimental 2015 rule.

Much attention has been focused of late on the implications for Latin America of the US-China trade war, including in the agricultural sector, where Brazil has seemingly benefitted from growing demand for its abundant soy. Recent tariffs have pushed China to intensify trading with Latin America, contributing to the expectation that Brazil will become the leading soybean exporter for 2019-20, a distinction previously held by the US.

A September 2006 outbreak of E.coli in 26 states that sickened more than 200 people and led to the deaths of three may have been caused by feral swine roaming on a central California spinach farm, according to a study published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.

Twitter-transmitted pictures of spring 2019 in the Midwest have made my feed a stream of continuous heartbreak. Video after video of flooded fields and homes, stuck tractors, ruined crops, with pictures of tornado damage serving as the visual exclamation point to the slow-moving disaster that we’re living in the central part of the nation. We’ve have several hundred acres under water on our farm, our fields are dotted with wet spots and ruts, and we’re the fortunate ones, given what I see on my social media feed. It is a helpless feeling to watch as farmers and homeowners throughout the Midwest suffer from this disaster of historic proportions.

Located deep within the farm bill is a provision that could have a profound impact in the future. Section 7120 establishes a new USDA program entitled “New Beginning for Tribal Students.”