USDA Offers Help To California Producers Impacted By Fires

USDA OFFERS HELP TO CALIFORNIA PRODUCERS IMPACTED BY FIRES Oct. 23, 2017 Source: USDA news release The U.S. Department of Agriculture is targeting $4 million to help farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners in California recover from the recent wildfires. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service will issue waivers for those interested in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to enable recovery work to begin immediately.

EPA cancels talk on climate change by agency scientists

The Environmental Protection Agency has canceled the speaking appearance of three agency scientists who were scheduled to discuss climate change at a conference Monday in Rhode Island, according to the agency and several people involved. John Konkus, an EPA spokesman and a former Trump campaign operative in Florida, confirmed that agency scientists would not speak at the State of the Narragansett Bay and Watershed program in Providence, Rhode Island.

New York advances drone industry with testing corridor

Envisioning a day when millions of drones will buzz around delivering packages, watching crops or inspecting pipelines, a coalition is creating an airspace corridor in upstate New York where traffic management systems will be developed and unmanned aircraft can undergo safety and performance testing. The unmanned aircraft traffic management corridor, jump-started by a $30 million state investment, will extend 50 miles west over mostly rural farmland from Griffiss International Airport, a former Air Force base in Rome that is already home to NASA-affiliated drone testing.

Puna community gets nearly $3M to improve drinking water system

Nearly $3 million has been funded to a community association for a subdivision in Puna to improve its community drinking water system. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is awarding nearly $3 million in funding to a community association for a subdivision in Puna to improve its community drinking water system.

Mr. Toxicity Zaps America

America's all-time-leading heartless anti-science zealot EPA Administrator Scott "Mr. Toxicity" Pruitt, as of March 2017, nixed his own agency's proposal of 2015 to ban the toxic chemical chlorpyrifos, an insecticide that attacks the nervous system of pesky insects, as well as pesky and non-pesky people . It's sprayed on crops of foodstuff that ends up in grocery stores.

2017 Specialty Crop Block Grants Awarded

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has been awarded $296,405.62 through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Marketing Service. The Kansas Department of Agriculture has been awarded $296,405.62 through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Marketing Service.

Cornell awarded $130,000 to study new pest that threatens onion crops

U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney met with local officials and agricultural leaders Wednesday to celebrate the award of $130,000 in state and federal matching funds to further Cornell University's study of a new pest that is threatening the region's $40 million onion and allium crops.

Calaveras supervisors table ordinance to ban commercial cannabis cultivation

Gary Jakobs, a consultant with Ascent Environmental hired by Calaveras County, confers with Peter Maurer, county planning director, on Wednesday during a special board meeting on cannabis in San Andreas. - union democrat Gary Jakobs, a consultant with Ascent Environmental hired by Calaveras County, confers with Peter Maurer, county planning director, on Wednesday during a special board meeting on cannabis in San Andreas.

Oversight committee may subpoena USDA, DOJ over air travel

Representative Trey Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina and chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi listens as Hillary Clinton, not pictured, testifies during a House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing in Washington, Oct. 22, 2015. The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee is sending a warning shot to federal agencies and the White House for not fully complying with the panel's investigation into administration air travel.

USDA Invests in Research on Next Generation of Agricultural Technology

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture today announced 17 grants for research on the next generation of agricultural technologies and systems to meet the growing demand for food, fuel, and fiber. The grants are funded through NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative , authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

Trump’s great regulatory rollback

Emissions spew from the coal-fired Morgantown Generating Station on Tuesday in Newburg, Md. Environmental Protection Agency Director Scott Pruitt took steps to repeal President Barack Obama's policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants last week.

Official: Irma was ‘lethal’ for Florida citrus, other crops

Florida's famous oranges are still falling from trees and rotting on the ground weeks after Hurricane Irma, and the state's agriculture commissioner said Thursday there will be fewer Florida vegetables on Thanksgiving tables and a shortage of poinsettias at Christmas. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Florida farmers updated the state Senate Agriculture Committee that the storm damaged crops of all kinds, with losses topping $2.5 billion.

USDA sets new labeling disclosures for bio-engineered foods

Results from the USDA study, conducted by Deloitte, show that most consumers should be able to access bioengineering food disclosure information from a digital link on a package but that access is not foolproof. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law-signed into law on July 29, 2017-directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop regulations and standards to create mandatory disclosure requirements for bio-engineered foods by July 2018.

Proposed repeal of Clean Power Plan raises questions about energy reliability

This Oct. 20, 2010, file photo, shows Xcel Energy's Sherco Power Plant is shown in Becker, Minn. A divided Supreme Court agreed Feb. 9, 2016, to halt enforcement of President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to address climate change until after legal challenges are resolved.

23 receive ‘genius grants’ from MacArthur Foundation

A director who has taken opera from the concert hall to the streets of Los Angeles and an organizer who helped put a human face on the plight of young undocumented immigrants are among this year's MacArthur fellows and recipients of the so-called "genius" grants. The Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation on Wednesday announced the 23 fellows, who each receive $625,000 over five years to spend any way they choose.

UPDATE 3-U.S. formally proposes to scrap Obama’s carbon-cutting plan

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally proposed on Tuesday to scrap the agency's Obama-era plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, as the Trump administration seeks to slash fossil fuel regulation. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a notice that the agency intended to repeal the Clean Power Plan, which it said relied on controversial calculations of economic costs and benefits.