DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The country buys about 17 million tonnes of mostly GM yellow corn from the United States each year, mostly for animal feed. Mexico will still prohibit use of GM corn for human consumption, such as flour, dough, or tortilla made from the grain. About 20% of Mexican corn imports from the United States is white corn for food products. It will still move forward with its plan to ban imports of the herbicide glyphosate, with a transition period in effect until March 31, 2024. The United States had given the Mexican government until Tuesday to explain the science behind its proposed bans.

Feb 3 (Reuters) - School meals for millions of children in the United States would include less added sugar, more whole grains, and lower sodium content under new standards proposed by the Biden administration on Friday. The Biden administration committed to updating school meal nutrition standards as part of its strategy laid out at a conference on hunger last year. Under the proposed standards, by fall 2024, schools would need to offer whole grain products. The Obama administration hiked standards by requiring schools to serve fruits and vegetables every day and offer more whole grain foods. "These proposed evidence-based standards will make for a healthier school day," said FRAC president Luis Guardia in a statement.

"We believe there's a better alternative than go big or go out," Vilsack said, speaking to members of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, an advocacy group. The agency will also introduce a new grant program later this year to expand processing capacity for non-livestock commodities, he said. Farmers should be educating lawmakers about the importance of these programs as discussion of the next farm bill begins in earnest on Capitol Hill, Vilsack said. The current farm bill, which is passed every five years and funds major nutrition, subsidy, and conservation programs, expires on Sept. 30. Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden restores protections for Alaska's Tongass National Forest after Trump rollback
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced it's reinstating restrictions on logging and road-building on about nine million acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest, the world's largest intact temperate rainforest. The rule, which was finalized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, repeals a Trump administration decision that stripped safeguards for the forest in southeastern Alaska. The rainforest is also considered critical for carbon sequestration and storage to help mitigate climate change. The country's forests absorb carbon dioxide equivalent to more than 10% of U.S. annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to the USDA. "As our nation's largest national forest and the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, the Tongass National Forest is key to conserving biodiversity and addressing the climate crisis," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

[1/2] Ron Klain attends a meeting at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington October 22, 2014. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoREHOBOTH BEACH, De., Jan 21 (Reuters) - Ron Klain, President Joe Biden's White House chief of staff, plans to leave his post in the coming weeks, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday, a major changing of the guard. Klain, 61, has a long history at the White House, having served as chief of staff to former Vice President Al Gore and to Biden when he was vice president under President Barack Obama. The chief of staff position is one of the most important at the White House, the senior political appointee responsible for driving the president's policy agenda and ensuring appropriate staff members are hired. Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, burned through four chiefs of staff in four years including his first, Reince Priebus, who lasted 192 days.

These projects add to $440 million in wildfire mitigation efforts that launched last year using funds from Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law. Together, these resources will help protect up to 45 million acres in the western U.S., said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. This includes 134 high-risk areas of land where a wildfire could pose a serious risk to communities and infrastructure. The USDA’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy, published in January 2022, identified 250 of these high-risk “firesheds” across the western states. The USDA’s work will focus on 11 landscapes, areas that were selected based on wildfire risks to nearby communities and buildings.

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday it will invest nearly $600 million in clean energy projects for farms and rural communities in its effort to cut the nation's emissions while increasing energy security, adding that more money for such projects would be distributed soon. The Biden administration has said funding clean energy projects in rural communities is key to increasing the nation's supply of renewable energy and for not leaving such areas behind as the United States tries to transition to a greener economy. USDA will distribute $285 million in grants and loans through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for 844 projects in 46 states that will aid farmers with projects like the purchase and installation of solar arrays and implementing more energy-efficient farm equipment. The agency is also opening applications for an additional $300 million in REAP funding, $250 million of which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which was passed by Congress in August and appropriated nearly $2 billion to REAP. "We know the need is out there and we know the demand is out there," he said.

☆ U.S. threatens legal steps over Mexico's planned GMO corn ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday threatened legal action against Mexico's plan to ban imports of genetically modified corn in 2024, saying it would cause huge economic losses and significantly impact bilateral trade. The countries are already in dispute resolution talks over Mexican energy policies, which the United States argues violates the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade pact. The planned ban would halve Mexico's imports of yellow corn from the United States, a Mexican agriculture official told Reuters in October. Supporters of the plan say genetically modified seeds could contaminate Mexico's age-old native varieties. Vilsack said Lopez Obrador had reaffirmed the importance of yellow corn imports for Mexico's food security, and that he was expecting to soon receive a proposal from the president on a potential dialogue over the issue.

☆ Biden asks Congress to avert rail strike, warning of dire economic impact
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday called on Congress to intervene to avert a potential rail strike that could occur as early as Dec. 9, warning of the potential dire economic impact. Biden asked lawmakers to adopt the tentative deal announced in September "without any modifications or delay - to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown." "The risks to our nation’s economy and communities simply make a national rail strike unacceptable," says the letter to congressional leaders first reported by Reuters. "Therefore, absent a voluntary agreement, we call on you to take immediate steps to prevent a national rail strike and the certain economic destruction that would follow." If they do not, workers could strike or railroads could lock out employees - unless Congress intervenes.

☆ Iowa GOP threatens to move caucuses to Halloween to mess with Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Natasha Korecki | Natasha Korecki Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

But if a different state were to move into Iowa’s slot for Democrats, Kaufmann said he will make sure he keeps jumping so Iowa’s Republican caucus goes first. Kaufmann’s position could complicate the overall schedule even more since New Hampshire has a law on the books that it has to hold its primary just after Iowa’s caucuses. That old system began with the Iowa caucuses, then went to the New Hampshire primary, Nevada and South Carolina. Dozens of states have now applied to take one of the early state positions. The Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee is scheduled to meet in early December in Washington to discuss the presidential primary schedule.

The House agriculture committee will likely be led starting in January by Glenn "GT" Thompson of Pennsylvania. The farm bill has a historical reputation of bipartisanship, so some advocates told Reuters they are warily optimistic. Passage of the 2014 farm bill was held up more than a year as conservative House Republicans tried unsuccessfully to strip the bill of nutrition programs. Every Republican member of the House agriculture committee signed a letter calling the funding “abusive and troublesome." At an August farm conference in Iowa, Thompson said if he led the agriculture committee, he would "ensure that the farm bill doesn't become a climate bill."

CHICAGO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Cooks may have to put away their oversized platters for serving turkey this Thanksgiving. If a farm has an outbreak, producers must disinfect their barns after culling turkeys and wait about six months before restocking. The National Turkey Federation acknowledged that cooks in some geographic areas could see limited supplies of big turkeys. On the U.S. East Coast, Baldor sees a shortage of the bigger sizes as large Thanksgiving celebrations make a comeback, Lindgren said. Shoppers are resuming traditional purchases of turkeys around 18 pounds, after downsizing their birds for smaller gatherings over the last two years, he said.

☆ Mexico not buying U.S. yellow corn as GM ban looms, Lopez Obrador says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Marianna Parraga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States wanted to sell Mexico more yellow corn and Mexico declined, Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference. "There is a market for it, but the government cannot make a purchase because we do not want GM," Lopez Obrador said, citing a lack of scientific investigation into its effects. Lopez Obrador did not specify who made the request to sell more corn, the amount of the requested sale or the time frame. Mexico is ready to halve its U.S. imports of yellow corn when the decree goes into effect and is considering direct agreements with farmers to secure non-GM yellow corn imports, the country's deputy agriculture minister said in October. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell on Wednesday after the news, with the benchmark December contract down 6 cents a bushel at a two-month low of $6.61-1/2 a bushel.

☆ USDA announces $759M for high-speed internet in rural areas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making available $759 million in grants and loans to enable rural communities to access high-speed internet, part of the broader $65 billion push for high-speed connectivity from last year’s infrastructure law. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House senior adviser Mitch Landrieu are unveiling the grants in North Carolina on Thursday. “Rural communities are the backbone of our nation, but for too long they’ve been left behind and they have been underrecognized,” Landrieu said. That’s just beyond unacceptable that that’s not available to rural America.”Vilsack said he and Landrieu will “learn firsthand” from people in North Carolina about the opportunities internet access can create. They plan to meet with state and local officials including North Carolina Gov.

☆ The government has already canceled $800 million of debts for US farmers, and says that's 'just the first step' in its loan relief programme
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The USDA has canceled $800 million in debts for 13,100 farmers, it said Tuesday. The Inflation Reduction Act included $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers. The USDA said Tuesday's announcement was "just the first step" in aiding distressed farmers. This came from the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed in August. The USDA said it would start processing up to $500 million more in debt relief for up to 23,000 more borrowers.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. farmers in economic distress have received nearly $800 million in loan relief from the Department of Agriculture (USDA)using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh announced on Tuesday. The new law allocates $3.1 billion for USDA to make loan adjustments or payments for financially distressed farmers. The agency also cleared debt held by about 2,100 farmers who had been foreclosed on but still owed money. USDA will administer another $500 million to aid farmers with more complex financial situations, including where farmers are facing bankruptcy or foreclosure, the agency said. An earlier debt relief program in the American Rescue Plan would have allocated debt relief to farmers of color.

☆ Biden to lay out plan to end hunger in the U.S. by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden is hosting a conference on hunger, nutrition and health in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday where his administration will announce more than $8 billion in private and public sector commitments as part of its plans to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030. Of the $8 billion in new commitments invested in the action, at least $2.5 billion will go toward start-up companies focused on solutions to hunger and food insecurity. More than $4 billion will go to philanthropy aimed at improving access to nutritious food, promoting healthy choices and increasing physical activity. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will deliver opening remarks and an overview of the national strategy before Biden speaks. White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice will also lead a conversation with chairman Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Sens.

☆ Private sector to pledge $8 bln to combat U.S. hunger-White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday plans to unveil $8 billion in new private sector spending to combat hunger, including hundreds of millions of dollars for meals after lawmakers failed to further extend pandemic-era nutrition supports like universal school meals and increased aid to food banks. Biden aims to end U.S. hunger and reduce diet-related diseases in a majority of Americans by 2030, but is turning to the private sector to underwrite some of the spending, after Congress failed to further extend school lunch aid. Key contributions to be announced Wednesday include a pledge by nonprofit FoodCorps to invest $250 million for free, healthy school meals and to expand nutrition education in schools. The private sector commitments also come after recent revelations of hundreds of millions of stolen federal dollars that were supposed to be spent on food aid during the coronavirus pandemic. "We are exploring what our next steps look like in terms of accountability," the officials said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonomity.

☆ Biden introduces administration's plans to increase competition across industries
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden announced his administration's plans to crack down on fees and increase competition across various industries on Monday. During a speech at a meeting at the White House Competition Council, the president said unnecessary hidden fees, or "junk fees" were weighing down families' budgets. The Competition Council was created by the Biden administration to "promote competition with a goal of lowering prices for consumers and raising the wages of workers and encouraging innovation in the economy," Biden said. The changes will put the government on track to lowering overdraft fees by $3 billion a year, Biden said. It doesn't go up when there's competition," Biden said.

Search resuls for: "Tom Vilsack"

20 mentions found