Government
FBI says ransomware attacks on food and agriculture industry are increasing
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In the past year, there have been at least eight hacks of companies in the industry, including the international meatpacking company JBS.
The largest single beneficiary of Trump’s tariff payments? An alternative farm lender.
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The Trump Administration has paid farmers billions to offset losses from ongoing trade wars, but millions have also gone to an alternative farm lender.
Agrifund LLC, which does business as Ag Resource Management, or ARM, has received more trade mitigation money than anyone else, according to a Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Opinion
Opinion: Supreme Court needs to rule in favor of SNAP data transparency
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The Food Marketing Institute is trying to conceal how taxpayer dollars are being spent by recipients of the Supplemental Food Assistance Program. To date it’s been an almost eight-year court battle between South Dakota's Argus Leader newspaper and USDA and FMI.
Environment
When Being A Family Farm Doesn’t Mean Squat In The Government’s Eyes
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture sets an industry definition for family farms. But that definition doesn’t take acreage size into consideration and can include operations where the family may not own the land, or even farm it. It defines what a family farm is for a consistent technical term in research and policy, which includes farm subsidies.
Government
Illinois gets D+ grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation
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The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting spent six months researching the state laws and practices in Illinois as part of the State Integrity Investigation. The State Integrity Investigation is a data-driven assessment of state laws and practices that deter corruption and promote accountability and transparency by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity. This is the second time the project has run.
Agribusiness
Salmonella strain prompts chicken recall
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Costco wholesale stores have joined grocery chain Kroger Co. in recalling Foster Farms’ chicken products from its shelves. The recall involves nearly 40,000 pounds of chicken sold on the west coast that has been linked to a 20-state outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg contamination. So far, the outbreak has caused at least 317 illnesses.
Government
New report criticizes EPA pesticide registration process
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The Environmental Protection Agency has registered more than 16,000 pesticides. However, a large portion of those are only "conditionally registered," meaning they lack important data on health safety and environmental well-being. A report by the Government Accountability Office recently criticized the process behind registering such pesticides.
Health
Food safety officials tweak Salmonella testing process
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The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced changes to the process it uses to detect Salmonella in ground beef. Among the changes, beef samples that inspectors examine will increase from 25 grams to 325 grams.