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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Representatives of major farm groups told leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Friday that the existing farm bill programs are inadequate to protect farmers from rising input costs.
“Not that I’m aware of.” House Agriculture Chairman David Scott says that answer from Tim Schellpeper, the CEO of meatpacking giant JBS USA, at a hearing in April is enough to justify setting up a special investigator’s office at USDA to look into meat industry practices.
House Democrats, struggling to maintain their tenuous control over the House amid soaring food and fuel prices, win passage of a package of bills aimed at promoting competition in the meat sector, reducing fertilizer usage and expanding the use of biofuels.
The Agriculture Department would get $560 million more for rural broadband expansion, plus increases for research, food aid and combating animal and plant diseases, under a draft House spending bill for fiscal 2023.
The Bureau of Reclamation is working on new steps to prevent further depletion of drought-stricken Colorado River reservoirs that are critical for agriculture and cities but shrinking to levels that can’t sustain hydropower.
The House is set today to clear the Senate-passed Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which empowers the Federal Maritime Commission to take steps to clear port bottlenecks and reduce shipping rates.
The Biden administration will work with the United Farm Workers to develop a $65 million program broadly aimed at ensuring farms implement “robust health and safety standards” for employees and preventing unfair recruitment practices for H-2A workers.