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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Global demand requires that the world add more than 20 million acres to crop production over the next five years, agricultural economist Dan Basse told attendees of the American Seed Trade Association’s annual field crop convention in Orlando Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration is promoting Namandjé Bumpus to principal deputy commissioner upon the retirement of Janet Woodcock early next year. Bumpus joined the FDA in August 2022 to serve as the agency’s chief scientist. Michael Rogers has been named associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.
An Agriculture Department letter warning the largest makers of corn, soybean and cotton seeds to double-check their compliance with labeling requirements is being welcomed by some groups as a step toward the agency’s goal for a fairer seed marketplace, while others would rather see the agency tackling other seed competition issues.
An EPA rule regulating plant-incorporated protectants received swift criticism Thursday from groups representing the seed industry and soybean growers, who said it would hamper innovation.
USDA has rolled out a series of steps to further the Biden administration's efforts to address consolidation pressure in agriculture, including a series of near-term steps detailed in a lengthy report about the current state of the American seed industry.
Speakers at a recent White House listening session pleaded with the Biden administration to modernize U.S. regulatory oversight of gene-edited plant products to compete with other countries that have streamlined processes allowing for quicker approval.
As Congress begins to craft the 2023 Farm Bill, USDA Undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics Chavonda Jacobs-Young explained the need to invest in research infrastructure and workforce development and make research more digestible and usable to agricultural producers.
The U.S. corn sector has been adamant that it cannot easily or quickly shift to producing non-GMO corn to comply with an upcoming Mexican ban, but Brazilian and Argentine farmers are also telling Mexico that it’s mistaken if it thinks it can rely on them to make up for the coming loss of U.S. supplies.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday dismissed a dire forecast of Mexico slashing corn imports from the U.S. because of a scheduled Mexican ban on genetically modified corn.
Maine voters chose to enshrine a right to food in their Constitution last Tuesday, becoming the first U.S. state to add such an amendment. The measure may not change much, if anything, about the state’s laws surrounding the production of food. Or it could entirely reshape them.
