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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Thursday, April 03, 2025
Basil Gooden, a former Virginia agriculture secretary who has been directing state operations for USDA Rural Development for the past two years, was nominated Monday by President Joe Biden to be the department’s new undersecretary for rural development.
Xochitl Torres Small, a former congresswoman and the granddaughter of farmworkers, was easily confirmed by the Senate Tuesday as USDA's new deputy agriculture secretary.
In the past 11 fiscal years, USDA’s Rural Development agency has financed $341.3 billion through more than 1.7 million different investments, according to a new Rural Data Gateway dashboard unveiled by the agency that shows where the dollars are going.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has announced she will not seek reelection, and Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., has been selected to serve as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The Senate has confirmed the nominations of Doug McKalip to be the Biden administration's chief ag trade administrator, Alexis Taylor to be USDA's undersecretary of trade and foreign agricultural affairs, and Jose Emilio Esteban to be USDA’s undersecretary for food safety.
The Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Business and Industry Loan Guarantees have seen increasing participation from lenders funding projects in rural America, but the funding for the program is lagging behind its demand.
USDA Rural Development has announced the fourth round of its ReConnect program, which will offer more than $1 billion to expand broadband in rural America and begin taking applications in September.
The Biden administration is rolling out new regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. But administration officials insist they intend to rely on voluntary measures to reduce methane emissions from agriculture.
Members of the U.S. House may want to make note of this: Most teenagers believe unreliable access to high-speed internet and lack of digital skills are driving economic and social inequities in their communities, according to a Harris poll sponsored by the National 4-H Council and a coalition that includes Land O’Lakes, Microsoft and Verizon.
