The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services is investigating imported unapproved genetically modified petunias. USDA says the GE petunias produce various hues of orange, red and purple colored flowers. The petunias have been imported into the U.S. from Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, South America, as well as the countries of Australia, Israel and Mexico, and …
Canada Defeats GMO Labeling Bill
Members of Canada’s Parliament defeated a GMO labeling bill last week. The bill was handed a landslide defeat, with 67 members voting yes, and 216 voting no. The bill would have mandated GMO labeling in Canada. Online food industry publication FoodNavigator-USA reports the bill specified that Canada’s Food and Drugs Act be amended to say “No person shall sell any …
Stabenow Expresses Concerns with EPA Scientist Dismissals
The ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee has expressed concerns over the dismissal of scientists by the Environmental Protection Agency. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow specifically voiced her concerns over EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s move to dismiss nine members of the Board of Scientific Counselors, a major scientific review board within the agency. The board reviews the research carried out …
Senate Ag to Hold Farm Economy Hearing
The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on the farm economy conditions Thursday, May 25th. Announced by leadership of the committee, Senators Pat Roberts, and Debbie Stabenow, the hearing is titled “Examining the Farm Economy: Perspectives on Rural America.” The hearing is recognized as the start of the Senate Agriculture Committee farm bill hearings. It follows two “boots on …
Trump Plan to Balance Budget Includes Farm Subsidy Cuts
A budget plan President Donald Trump is expected to submit to Congress Tuesday includes steep cuts to farm subsidies, according to Bloomberg News. The 2018 budget proposal, which would begin the process of balancing the budget within ten years, would make cuts to mandatory spending on an array of social programs while sparing the Social Security and Medicare entitlement programs. …
Canada and Mexico React Cautiously to NAFTA Letter
Canada and Mexico issued carefully worded statements following the announcement letter outlining President Donald Trump’s intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was sent to Congress, according to the Hagstrom Report. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said: “We are at a critical juncture that offers us an opportunity to determine how we can best align …
Alabama Farmers Fare Well in Legislative Session
Farmers and forest owners fared well in the 2017 regular session of the Alabama Legislature, which was marked by a leadership change in the governor’s office. The Legislature adjourned for the session Friday evening. Alabama Farmers Federation priorities included passage of bills enhancing irrigation tax credits and the Farm-to-School program, as well as funding for the Concentrated Animal Feed Operation …
$4.7 Million to Support University Agricultural Science Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced $4.7 million in available funding to support agricultural science programs at non-land-grant universities. Funding is made through NIFA’s Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program (NLGCA). “Colleges and universities with strong agricultural science programs need support so they can address our nation’s challenges to …
Nelson Backs Speeding Up Dike Repairs
from The News Service of Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has followed Gov. Rick Scott, a potential 2018 election opponent, in imploring President Donald Trump to speed repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee and to fund other Everglades restoration projects. Nelson wrote a letter to Trump on Friday that said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would …
Rural Lands Program Could Run Short of Cash
by Jim Turner The News Service of Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the state Cabinet could spend about $8.5 million next week to conserve thousands of acres of land owned for decades by two ranching families. Such deals have become a widely used strategy in recent years to protect land from development. But the program that would pay for the …