National
USDA spending only a sliver of conservation funding on climate-smart practices, a new report finds
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In 2020, the agriculture industry accounted for more than 11% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
Coronavirus
She says her passion is teaching. Congress called her the meatpacking industry’s ‘go-to fixer.’
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Mindy Brashears, the former head of the USDA's agency overseeing meatpacking plants, has been largely quiet about her agency’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in exclusive interviews, she addresses the criticism the USDA put food production over worker safety.
Government
Texas State University program will mentor Black and Latina women in ag
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The program will pair high school and college students in what’s called a “near peer” model to help ease the minority participants into the mentorship.
Graphic of the Week
Scaling Up: Pork producers are becoming more specialized
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So-called farrow-to-finish operations have become a smaller and smaller share of the hog industry as more specialized operations have taken over, according to a recent study published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Agribusiness
Despite case of bird flu in a human, experts say risk to public and poultry workers remains low
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The ongoing avian flu outbreak has caused the loss of 37 million birds since February.
COVID-19 and Meatpacking
Tyson Foods authored draft version of Trump’s 2020 executive order to keep meatpacking plants open during COVID-19 pandemic, emails show
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The Tyson revelation is one finding in a new congressional report that details the myriad ways meat executives and sympathetic government allies influenced federal coronavirus response at the expense of worker safety.
OSHA and USDA should have collaborated more to protect meatpacking workers from COVID-19, government watchdog says
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An Office of Inspector General report released Tuesday concluded the two agencies could have done more to ensure the safety of meatpacking plant workers.
Department of Homeland Security
Opening this spring in Kansas: A high-tech lab researching livestock diseases
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At the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, researchers will try to find cures for and ways to prevent highly contagious diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, affecting livestock and humans.
Farm Service Agency
GRAPHIC: Midwestern states received most direct operating loans last year
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The loans are provided to farmers who don't qualify for credit from other lenders.
GRAPHIC: Fertilizer prices are spiking ahead of the planting season
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The USDA expects the prices to affect some producers' plans.