DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Government shutdown risks food benefits for 7 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsGovernment shutdown risks food benefits for 7 millionPostedU.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned on Monday (September 25) that a government shutdown risks nutritional assistance for the nearly 7 million low-income women and children who rely on benefits.

Persons: Tom Vilsack Organizations: Agriculture

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hundreds of communities around the country will share more than $1 billion in federal money to help them plant and maintain trees under a federal program that is intended to reduce extreme heat, benefit health and improve access to nature. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce the $1.13 billion in funding for 385 projects at an event Thursday morning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cedar Rapids has made the restoration of its tree canopy a priority since that storm, called a derecho, and will receive $6 million in funding through the new grants. She told reporters earlier that many communities have lacked access to nature and that all the tree grants would benefit marginalized and underrepresented communities. “Urban forests can really play a key role in ensuring both that access but also increasing the climate resilience of communities, helping reduce extreme heat and making communities more livable.”The federal money comes from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Persons: Tom Vilsack, ” Vilsack, Brenda Mallory, ” Mallory Organizations: DES, U.S . Department of Agriculture, D.C, Virgin, White, Council, Environmental, Vilsack Locations: DES MOINES, Iowa, Cedar Rapids , Iowa, Washington, Puerto Rico, Cedar Rapids, Cedar, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Tarpon Springs , Florida, Hutchinson , Kansas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Vermont a natural disaster area from the catastrophic July flooding, making farms eligible for emergency federal loans, Republican Gov. It's the second USDA disaster declaration for Vermont this summer. In July, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack approved Scott's request for a disaster declaration for the May frost that hit many growers, including vineyards and apple orchards. Since the July flooding, farmers have reported over $16 million in damage and losses, according to Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts. “This designation can provide a lifeline to these important farm and food businesses with resources until next year’s growing season.”The latest designation makes farms hit by the flooding eligible for emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, Scott said.

Persons: Phil Scott, It's, Tom Vilsack, Anson Tebbetts, ” Tebbetts, Scott Organizations: U.S . Department of Agriculture, Republican Gov, Farm Service Agency Locations: Vermont

☆ Biden heads to Arizona, other Western states to tout his economic policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to the key battleground state of Arizona and two other Western states next week as part of a travel blitz by senior administration officials touting recent economic gains and the anniversaries of key legislation. Biden will also host an event at the White House on Aug. 16, the official added. The Biden administration has struggled to sell its message of economic progress to a skeptical American public and connect the dots from the legislation to future jobs and growth. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Wisconsin with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to highlight broadband infrastructure investments made possible by the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law signed into law 20 months ago. Other cabinet members will visit Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Michigan and California, the official said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Kamala Harris, Gina Raimondo, Tom Vilsack, Jennifer Granholm, Ali Zaidi, Pete Buttigieg, Andrea Shalal, Mark Potter Organizations: White, White House, Energy, Transportation, Houston Port, Thomson Locations: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Delaware, U.S, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, Puerto Rico, Illinois, Houston , Texas, Maine , Maryland , Nevada , Michigan, California

☆ Agriculture Dept. to Invest $300 Million to Measure Greenhouse Emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Linda Qiu | More About Linda Qiu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Agriculture Department said on Wednesday that it would establish a monitoring and data collection network to measure greenhouse gas emissions and determine how much carbon can be captured using certain farming practices. The network, using $300 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, will help quantify the outcomes of so-called climate-smart or regenerative agricultural practices, a cornerstone of the department’s approach to addressing a warming planet. The research and data that is collected will also be crucial to measuring progress on President Biden’s goal of halving greenhouse emissions by the end of the decade. “It’s not just simply about promoting climate-smart agriculture, not simply about promoting proper science,” Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, said in a news conference on Tuesday ahead of the announcement. The department has also provided billions in additional funding to farming projects that reduce emissions, in part by capturing carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases, from the atmosphere and storing it as carbon in the soil.

Persons: Biden’s, “ It’s, Tom Vilsack, Biden Organizations: Agriculture Department

☆ UAW president says union prepared to strike Detroit Three
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) picket at the Deere & Co farm equipment plant before a visit by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Ankeny, Iowa, U.S. October 20, 2021. "The Big Three is our strike target. And whether or not there's a strike, it's up to Ford, General Motors and Stellantis," UAW President Shawn Fain said Tuesday in online remarks. If the Big Three don't give us our fair share, then they're choosing to strike themselves and we're not afraid to take action," Fain said. Talks with Detroit's Big Three automakers start on Thursday, ahead of the mid-September expiration of the current four-year labor deal.

Persons: Tom Vilsack, Scott Morgan, Ford, Shawn Fain, They've, we're, Fain, Stellantis, David Shepardson, Bill Berkrot Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, Deere & Co, Agriculture, REUTERS, General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Big, Ford, GM, Thomson Locations: U.S, Ankeny , Iowa, American

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The Biden administration will begin accepting applications for $2.2 billion in financial assistance for farmers who have experienced discrimination at the hands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency announced on Friday. The Biden administration had previously attempted to provide debt relief specifically to farmers of color but that effort was blocked in court by white farmers. The program opening on Friday, called the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, is funded by last year's Inflation Reduction Act. USDA is partnering with several organizations for Black, Native American, young, and other marginalized farmers to support in the application process. USDA had previously said it will distribute payments by the end of this year.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Biden, Tom Vilsack, Leah Douglas, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Department of Agriculture, USDA, Thomson Locations: Appleton City , Missouri, U.S, WASHINGTON, Washington

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - The Biden administration will spend $2.3 billion on food purchases for schools and food banks as the end of pandemic-era aid leads to rising food insecurity, the Department of Agriculture said on Friday. Supplemental food aid for low-income families and schools tied to the COVID-19 pandemic has mostly expired. Food banks and other emergency food providers have reported near-record demand as food price inflation continues to strain household budgets. The USDA will provide nearly $1.3 billion to states and territories for additional food purchases for school meal programs, which the agency said is needed due to the expiration of a 2022 law that temporarily increased funding to those programs. It will also distribute nearly $1 billion to organizations like food banks and community kitchens for commodity purchases from U.S. farmers.

Persons: Biden, Tom Vilsack, Vilsack, Leah Douglas, Frances Kerry Organizations: Department of Agriculture, USDA, U.S . Census Bureau, USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation, U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: Ukraine

MEXICO CITY, June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. is escalating its conflict with Mexico over agriculture biotech measures, including the stance on genetically modified (GM) corn, by requesting dispute settlement consultations, senior officials of the U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Friday. If the consultations announced on Friday fail to resolve disagreements within 75 days, Washington can request a dispute settlement panel to decide the case. The United States requested formal trade consultations in March over objections to Mexico's plans to limit imports of GM corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. Earlier this week, Mexico's agriculture minister expressed confidence in an interview that the dispute with the U.S. would not escalate to a dispute settlement panel. The new decree eliminated the deadline to ban GM corn for animal feed and industrial use, by far the bulk of its $5 billion worth of U.S. corn imports, but maintained a ban on GM corn used in dough or tortillas.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Tom Vilsack, Tom Haag, Cassandra Garrison, Adriana Barrera, Ismail Shakil, Leslie Adler Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S . Trade, U.S, Trade Ministry, United, Economy Ministry, Agriculture, U.S ., Corn Growers Association, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, U.S, Mexico, Canada, Washington, United States, Mexico City, Ottawa

☆ Rice. Half of Humanity Eats It. And Climate Change Is Wrecking It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Sometimes there’s not enough rain when seedlings need water, or too much when the plants need to keep their heads above water. Rice farmers are shifting their planting calendars. On top of that, there’s climate change: It has upended the rhythm of sunshine and rain that rice depends on. That’s a fraction of the emissions from coal, oil and gas, which together account for 35 percent of methane emissions. His experiment, carried out over seven years, concluded that by not flooding the fields continuously, farmers can reduce rice methane emissions by more than 60 percent.

☆ Exclusive: Staff at top U.S. farm research center file complaint alleging unsafe work conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Leah Douglas | Thomson Reuters | Washington-Based Award-Winning Journalist Covering Agriculture | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) near Washington D.C. is the largest research facility owned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and has long been the flagship of U.S. farm research. “Our employees’ health and well-being is our top priority," a spokesperson at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which oversees BARC, told Reuters. STAFF CUTSFounded in 1910, the BARC facility spans nearly 7,000 acres in Prince George’s County, Maryland, near the nation’s capital. The unreliable conditions are affecting research outcomes, making it at times impossible to complete experiments or replicate their findings, said two research employees. On February 22, several BARC employees met with Thomas Shanower, the director of USDA’s Northeast Area, a division that oversees 15 research centers, including BARC.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Rural electric cooperatives, utilities, and other energy providers will soon be able to apply for nearly $11 billion in grants and loans for clean energy projects, funded by the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last August, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. Expanding clean energy to rural communities is critical to meeting the administration's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, officials told reporters on a Monday press call. Rural electric cooperatives will be eligible to apply beginning July 31 for $9.7 billion in grants for deploying renewable energy, zero-emission, and carbon capture systems, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. Rural electric cooperatives serve 42 million people and draw about 22% of their energy from renewable sources, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The new funds will help rural electric cooperatives reach parity with private utility companies who have already begun significant investment in clean energy, Vilsack told reporters.

☆ White House to invest nearly $11 billion for renewable energy in rural areas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tom Vilsack, US agriculture secretary, speaks during the SelectUSA Investment Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, on Monday, June 27, 2022. The Biden administration on Tuesday announced nearly $11 billion in grants and loans to help rural energy and utility providers bring affordable clean energy to their communities across the U.S.Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a media briefing the funding will provide rural areas with a more dependable power grid and help lower future energy costs. Rural electric cooperatives, renewable energy firms and electric utilities can apply for funding through two programs under President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August. The Empowering Rural America program makes $9.7 billion available to eligible rural electric cooperatives to deploy renewable energy systems, zero-emission and carbon-capture systems. Rural electric cooperatives, which serve 42 million people across the country, will be eligible to apply for grants starting July 31, the USDA said.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Rural electric cooperatives, utilities, and other energy providers will soon be able to apply for nearly $11 billion in grants and loans for clean energy projects, funded by the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last August, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. Expanding clean energy to rural communities is critical to meeting the administration's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, officials told reporters on a Monday press call. Rural electric cooperatives will be eligible to apply beginning July 31 for $9.7 billion in grants for deploying renewable energy, zero-emission, and carbon capture systems, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. The new funds will help rural electric cooperatives reach parity with private utility companies who have already begun significant investment in clean energy, Vilsack told reporters. Rural electric cooperatives serve 42 million people and draw about 22% of their energy from renewable sources, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

☆ Michael Bennet demonstrates his go-to piquant tuna sandwich recipe in chat with cookbook author Mark Bittman
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Michael Bennet discussed food politics with cookbook author Mark Bittman in a new podcast. Bennet shared how he devoured Bittman's recipes during the pandemic and now cooks them regularly. Bennet told Insider he whips up a briny tuna sandwich creation every chance he gets. "I'm going to show you how to make the most sublime thing that is in Mark Bittman's cookbook," the Colorado Democrat says as he walks social media fans through a savory offering punched up by anchovy-spiked olive tapenade. "And I rattled off Mark Bittman's recipe for stir-fried tofu."

☆ Michael Bennet demonstrates his go-to piquant tuna sandwich recipe after chatting with cookbook author Mark Bittman
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - The Biden administration said on Wednesday the plan from U.S. Republican lawmakers to cut federal spending for a decade in exchange for raising the debt ceiling would cost rural communities thousands of jobs and billions of dollars. The House of Representatives could vote as soon as Wednesday on the plan proposed last week by Speaker Kevin McCarthy. There would be 2,700 fewer firefighters to handle wildfires, 125,000 fewer rural households connected to high-speed internet, and 84,000 fewer farmers and ranchers receiving assistance in implementing conservation practices, the USDA said. Under the new version, expanded work requirements would go into effect in 2024 instead of 2025. About 275,000 people would lose benefits each month under the plan, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday.

April 25 (Reuters) - Nearly one million Americans could find it harder to access federal food aid under a Republican proposal to expand the program’s work requirements, according to the Biden administration, which has promised to veto the plan if it passes Congress. The expanded work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were included in a plan released last week by Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to cut federal spending and raise the debt ceiling. Existing SNAP work requirements apply only to such adults up to age 50. The expansion could affect nearly 1 million people, said a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson. About 42.4 million people are receiving SNAP benefits this year, the agency said.

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - Meat companies should examine their supply chains for evidence of child labor, the Biden administration said in a letter sent to top meatpacking companies on Wednesday. The letter is part of an effort by several agencies, led by the Department of Labor, to curb the use of illegal child labor across sectors. In February, the Labor Department found that more than 100 children had been illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc, a company that contracts with meat-packers to clean slaughterhouses. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asked meat and poultry companies in the letter to determine whether illegal child labor is being used in their supply chains and to adopt stronger child labor standards for subcontractors. The Department of Agriculture is exploring enforcement mechanisms that would allow stronger oversight of child labor use in food supply chains and plans to take future steps on the issue, an agency spokesperson said.

☆ After growing GM corn for decades, some US farmers open to Mexican restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"I'm all for free and fair trade," said Fred Huddlestun, who grows GM corn and soybeans in Yale, Illinois. Supporters of the policy say GM corn can contaminate Mexico's age-old native varieties and have questioned its impact on human health. NCGA said GM corn is safe and it will fight all illegal trade barriers for farmers. But many would consider growing more non-GM corn, if the price were right. "You need to make it worth my while," said Illinois farmer Dave Kestel, who grows GM corn and sells seed for Corteva.

Companies United States Department of Agriculture FollowWASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - Rural small businesses and farmers will be eligible to apply for $1 billion in grants to invest in clean energy beginning Saturday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House announced on Friday. The money, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will be distributed through the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and is meant to further the Biden administration's efforts to cut climate-harming emissions across the American economy. The grant money can be used to install renewable energy systems - like solar panels, wind turbines, or biomass projects like anaerobic digesters that process animal manure to generate renewable fuels like biogas - or to make energy-efficient improvements, the USDA said. The funded projects will create jobs, reduce emissions, and improve rural resiliency in the face of a changing climate, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the press call. The IRA provided more than $2 billion for REAP, which the administration anticipates will fund projects for 41,500 farms and small businesses, according to the USDA website.

REUTERS/Nick Carey/File PhotoWASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - Several federal agencies will work together on competition issues in the seed sector as part of a broader Biden administration push to enhance competition in agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Monday. The USDA, Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Justice, and Federal Trade Commission will start up a working group on intellectual property and competition in the seed and agricultural input sector, USDA said. USDA is also creating a "farmer seed liaison" role to deliver on recommendations in a report released by the agency today on how to promote competition in the seed industry. USDA issued a $73 million round of funding under the same program last fall. Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington and Karl Plume in Chicago Editing by Nick Zieminski and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - The United States has requested formal trade consultations with Mexico over U.S. objections to its southern neighbor's plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. "We hope these consultations will be productive as we continue to work with Mexico to address these issues." The United States has previously threatened to take the issue to a trade dispute panel under the trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada over the plan, which would ban genetically modified corn for human consumption. A USTR official said the talks would cover Mexico's planned rejection of GMO corn and other agricultural biotechnology products that have been shown to be safe in the United States and other countries for decades. Corn for food use comprises about 21% of Mexican corn imports from the U.S., a representative from the National Corn Growers Association said, citing U.S. Grains Council data.

March 6 (Reuters) - Companies labeling their meat, poultry, or eggs as a U.S. product must raise and slaughter the animals within the country under a new rule proposed by the Biden administration on Monday. The administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pledged to review the "Product of USA" and "Made in the USA" label standards for meat early last year as part of a broader strategy to encourage competition in the economy as a whole and in the highly consolidated meat sector. "American consumers expect that when they buy a meat product at the grocery store, the claims they see on the label mean what they say," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. U.S. meat labeling has been contentious for years. The "Product of the USA" label will remain voluntary under USDA's proposed rule.

☆ U.S. to ask Mexico for formal talks over GMO corn dispute -industry sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - The United States plans to request formal talks under its free trade agreement with Mexico over Mexican plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn, two U.S. industry sources said on Monday. The United States has previously threatened to take the issue to a trade dispute panel under the trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada over the plan, which would ban genetically modified corn for human consumption. The U.S. agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, had said that a trade dispute panel under free trade agreement would be the next step if talks were not successful. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai held talks with Mexican Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro over the issue late last month. Corn for food use comprises about 21% of Mexican corn imports from the U.S., according to a representative from the National Corn Growers Association, citing U.S. Grains Council data.

Search resuls for: "Tom Vilsack"

25 mentions found