Articles by Hannah Pagel

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows Ukraine to export grain from three Odesa ports despite an ongoing war, was renewed on Saturday, but it’s still unclear for how long.

Some of the largest multinational food companies are calling on lawmakers to maintain funding for conservation and climate priorities in the next farm bill.

Alyssa Houtby has joined the North American Blueberry Council as the new director of government affairs and Loree Dowse and Paul Ensley have joined Church Bros. Farms.

Erick Lutt is now the director of federal government affairs for Bayer U.S., Crop Science based in Washington D.C., and new staffers are added to the House Agriculture Committee for both the Republican and Democratic staff.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture says it wants to see a strong commodity title in the farm bill but is focusing its efforts on ag research, cybersecurity and trade.

The Biden administration is calling on Congress to make permanent a $5-an-acre payment program for cover crops that USDA offered in 2021 and 2022.

Jay Ziegler has been tapped as the new delta watermaster at the State Water Resources Control Board and Cindy McCain has been named the next executive director of the United Nations World Food Program.

Cindy McCain has been named the next executive director of the United Nations World Food Program and USDA has been appointed L’Tonya Davis as the first permanent chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Cindy McCain has been tapped as the next executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, taking the reins of the world’s largest humanitarian organization as millions of people are pushed into hunger from climate-related disaster and the war in Ukraine. 

CMI Orchards has selected Brett Reasor as the new CEO of New Columbia Fruit Packers and President and CEO of Food Systems for the Future Ertharin Cousin has been tapped to assume the role of co-chair for USDA’s Equity Commission.