Washington State FSA Update - USDA Announces Funding Available to Organizations to Assist Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers under Pandemic Assistance for Producers Initiative
USDA Rolls Out Pandemic Assistance – PNW AG Network
The USDA has announced their multi-billion-dollar Pandemic Assistance for Producers, which aims to fill in gaps from CFAP. The new effort puts at least $6 billion into new programs to reach a broader set of producers than earlier efforts, including small and minority, specialty crop and organic producers.
How Does Soil Health Impact Farm Management Decisions? – PNW AG Network
“Soil Health is, simply put, the ability to produce marketable outputs with minimal inputs. It’s very important for people to understand that multi-dimensional property is dynamic, it changes over time and it’s dependent on environmental conditions like temperature, moisture and even the microorganisms and worms and all other life that’s present there.”
Half the Country Is Now Considering Right to Repair Laws
But people across the world are tired of it and 25 states in the U.S. are considering right-to-repair legislation in 2021.
Measure allowing overtime for farmworkers moves forward
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Agricultural workers in Washington state would become eligible for overtime pay under a bill moving through the Legislature in Olympia.
What’s in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for Agriculture?
Combined, the nutrition and agricultural provisions are estimated at $22.7 billion. Today’s article reviews the agricultural provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
FACT SHEET: United States Department of Agriculture Provisions in H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan | USDA
WASHINGTON, Mar. 10, 2021 – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021...Specifically, provisions within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will reduce hunger across the country, strengthen the food supply chain, invest in rural America, and provide long awaited support to underserved, socially disadvantaged farmers.
Black farmers will receive $5 billion of the stimulus package - The Washington Post
$5 billion would go to farmers of color, who have lost 90 percent of their land over the past century because of systemic discrimination and a cycle of debt
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Senate Passage of the American Rescue Plan Act | USDA
If you’re a mother or father struggling to get by, who didn’t always know when or where the next meal would come from, you will rest easier tonight knowing help is on the way. The bill not only boosts SNAP benefits through September, it also increases targeted nutrition assistance to mothers and young children and expedites more nutrition aid to U.S. territories. Farmers, business owners, and workers across the food supply chain will see additional assistance to respond to market disruption, as well.
Idaho cow manure pollution bill approved by Senate panel
The [IDAHO] Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee voted 5-3 to send to the full Senate the bill requiring state officials to consider economic ramifications when imposing pollution regulations on farms and ranches producing manure to protect nearby communities and the environment from pollution.
WA Senate OK’s bill for state-run meat inspection program | The Olympian
A bill to make it easier for Washington ranchers to get their meat directly to consumers unanimously passed the state Senate this week.
The bill would create a state-run meat and poultry inspection program with requirements equal to those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Washington forms healthy snowpack after snowiest February in 20 years | king5.com
A good snowpack means more water for farmers who need irrigation this summer, as well as municipal water supplies. It can also help mitigate wildfire season.
Climate mitigation ‘designed by farmers for farmers’ | Successful Farming
Producers could see three new revenue streams from climate mitigation, he said. They were income from carbon markets, from conversion of agricultural waste into products ranging from chemicals to fabrics, and capture of methane from manure for use as a renewable fuel.
Lights out for bill to let Washington counties nix solar panels on farms | Rural Life | capitalpress.com
OLYMPIA — A bill to give counties and cities rather than an unelected state board the power to approve or reject solar panel arrays on farmland has failed.
Cover crops grow in popularity, but still a niche | Successful Farming
Extolled as a defense against erosion and nutrient loss during fallow seasons, cover crops are being planted on a larger portion of U.S. cropland than before, said USDA economists.
‘We don’t have a day to waste’ on climate mitigation, says Vilsack | Successful Farming
U.S. agriculture faces a triple imperative — market, environment, and income — in responding to climate change, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday, his first day on the job. “We don’t have a day to waste on this,” he told reporters while indicating that the USDA will move at deliberate speed to identify and support successful mitigation practices.
Washington senator: Righting agriculture's history won't be 'cheap' | Dairy | capitalpress.com
Saldana's assertion that denying farmworkers overtime pay was grounded in racism comes as lawmakers consider whether to intervene and shield agricultural employers from backpay lawsuits, suits that farm groups warn pose existential threats to some producers.
Newhouse: The Return Of Vilsack Good News For Northwest Ag – PNW AG Network
Dan Newhouse says Tom Vilsack returning to head the USDA is a good thing for the farming community. The Chair of the Western Congressional Caucus, and a central Washington farmer himself, Newhouse said Vilsack can hit the ground running. Adding the Secretary understands many of the issues before Northwest producers.
The template for climate mitigation is soil conservation, says farm-enviro alliance | Successful Farming
The new era of climate mitigation on the farm would look like a beefed-up version of longstanding USDA conservation programs, augmented by a carbon bank that sets a floor price for carbon sequestration and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, said leaders of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA) on Wednesday. “That’s what we’ve modeled it after,” said Chuck Connor, a founding member of the alliance and a former deputy agriculture secretary.
Krysta Harden named USDEC chief | Dairy | capitalpress.com
Prior to joining USDA, Harden was CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts, providing national leadership for thousands of conservation districts across the nation.
Farms In The Midwest Have Lost Much Of Their Most Fertile Soil : NPR
Decade of Ag VISION – U.S. Farmers and Ranchers In Action
The Future We Desire: A resilient, restorative, economically viable, and climate-smart agricultural system that produces abundant and nutritious food, natural fiber, and clean energy for a sustainable, vibrant, and prosperous America.
Applications open for conservation mentorship | Successful Farming
Award-winning, conservation-minded landowners will soon be sharing their knowledge by serving as mentors for historically underserved farmers and ranchers.
USDA concludes 'mystery seed' investigation | Agriculture | capitalpress.com
The Agriculture Department said that after a detailed investigation, it found no evidence that someone was trying to harm U.S. agriculture. The report concluded the seeds were likely part of an internet scam to help a seller boost its search results.
How do farmers network? | Successful Farming
For the first time in the organization’s 102-year history, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) 2021 annual convention was held virtually. More than 8,000 people registered for the online event, surpassing attendance records of all prior in-person annual conventions.
‘You cannot do climate on the backs of the American farmer’ | Successful Farming
“A lot of these practices, while they may be good, aren’t always free or they require some investment or they require some new knowledge,” said Bonnie.
What Is Regenerative Agriculture?
Farmers watch wheat crop after cold snap, wind | Grains and row crops | capitalpress.com
Washington wheat growers will be monitoring their crops closely following a mid-February cold snap that brought low temperatures, wind and snow to the eastern portion of the state. Some winter damage is possible, said Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission.
USDA Ready to Assist Farmers, Ranchers and Communities Affected by Winter Storms – PNW AG Network
New form required for some NRCS customers | Agriculture | capitalpress.com
Starting this year, all producers and landowners participating or applying to participate in certain NRCS conservation programs must complete form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan, according to a press release from USDA.