By Tricia Wancko, Food Safety Grant Coordinator Punxsutawney Phil has decreed six more weeks of what has shaped up to be a frigid winter, but there are plenty of food safety projects to catch up on while the fields are frozen and you’re keeping toasty inside your burrow. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Outreach Program … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In a 92-7 vote, the U.S. Senate today confirmed Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture, demonstrating strong bipartisan support for President Joe Biden’s pick. Vilsack previously held the position for eight years under President Barack Obama. National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob … Read More
By Darrin Williamson, Region V FFA Officer and Chapter Vice President, Minnesota Farmers Union Youth Advisory Council Member Happy FFA Week, an annual celebration of FFA and the impact it has on members like me. I am interested and involved in agriculture – including FFA and Farmers Union – because it’s something we do as … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is supporting the Tenth Circuit Court’s January 2020 decisionin Renewable Fuels Association et al. v. EPA. After careful review of the decision, EPA’s new leadership agrees with both the court and the biofuel litigants … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2021 WASHINGTON – The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA) today announced expanding membership and new policy working groups focused on developing a set of more specific policy proposals that drill down on the 40+ recommendations released by FACA in November 2020. FACA’s eight founding members — American Farm Bureau Federation (co-chair), Environmental … Read More
By Aaron Shier, NFU Senior Government Relations Representative and Billy Mitchell, Food Safety Training Coordinator The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is opening their virtual doors to everyone, including the farming community, to comment on the proposed food traceability rule. National Farmers Union (NFU), which regularly comments on federal rulemakings important to its members, will certainly … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 10, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In a step towards passing a $1.9 trillion relief package, the House Agriculture Committee voted 25-23 in favor of the bill’s food and nutrition title. If passed, the legislation would set aside a total of $16.1 billion worth of support for farmers, hungry … Read More
By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Director Following his inauguration last Wednesday, President Joe Biden has wasted no time implementing his agenda. In the last week, he has issued more than three dozen executive orders, proclamations, and memoranda on a wide range of issues. Many of these actions have implications for agriculture. Here’s a brief summary … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In accordance with his campaign promise to aggressively address the climate crisis and create new jobs, President Joe Biden today issued several executive orders outlining actions the administration will take to cut greenhouse gas emissions, conserve natural resources, invest in renewable energy, advance … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to submit a status report every 60 days “on its progress in complying with the court’s remand” stemming from the July 2017 ruling in … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – To ease mounting financial pressures, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that it will temporarily suspend past-due debt collections and foreclosures for farmers borrowing under the Farm Storage Facility Loan and the Direct Farm Loan programs while also offering flexibilities under … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 22, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – To address a dramatic rise in hunger, President Joe Biden today signed an executive order that would increase food assistance for families missing meals due to school closures as well as boost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the lowest-income households. Throughout the … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 22, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – An alliance of farm, biofuels, and environmental organizations last night filed an amicus brief in objection to the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficiency Vehicle (SAFE) Rule on the grounds that it both fails to account for toxic pollution from aromatic-laden fuel as well as … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 20, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In his first hours as president, Joe Biden issued a flurry of executive orders and policy proposals covering a wide range of issues. Of particular interest to National Farmers Union (NFU) is President Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. The organization, … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 20, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – Following a swearing-in ceremony held at the U.S. Capitol, Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris today officially began their four-year terms as president and vice president of the United States. In a statement, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew extended his congratulations … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 19, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In its final hours under President Donald Trump’s jurisdiction, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued three waivers retroactively exempting oil refineries from their 2018 and 2019 obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The decision comes on the heels of the … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 19, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden yesterday nominated Dr. Jewel Bronaugh to serve as his Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to hold the second-in-command position at the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA). Dr. Bronaugh, who has been … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 13, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – America’s top biofuel and farm advocates called on President Trump to reject last-minute attacks on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and American farmers throughout the country, a plan reported to be under consideration by Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 11, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s decision in RFA et al. v. EPA, which overturned three inappropriately granted small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The following is a statement … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 7, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – Today, a coalition of the nation’s largest biofuels and agricultural trade groups filed its reply in support of its motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia. The motion, originally filed on November 23, 2020, asks the court to … Read More
By Billy Mitchell, NFU Food Safety Training Coordinator Organize the tools. Clean the barn. Patch the pants. As farmers make their New Year’s resolutions, produce growers have an extra one to add: test the water. Contaminated water is often the culprit of produce-related food borne illnesses – but with proper precautions, it can be avoided. … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 6, 2021 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – As Congress prepared to verify the results of the 2020 presidential election today, a group of far-right insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol building, vandalizing and stealing federal property, assaulting Capitol police officers, and threatening lawmakers with violence. The event, which occurred mere blocks … Read More
By Mackenzie Jeter, NFU Intern A hundred years ago, agriculture was a relatively diverse profession in the United States: a million Black farmers operated about 14 percent of the country’s farms. The makeup of the modern agricultural workforce could not look more different. Today, there are just 48,000 Black farmers – a 95 percent decline … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 [email protected] WASHINGTON – After months of negotiations, Congress today passed a $900 billion pandemic relief bill. As the pandemic has worn on over the last several months, National Farmers Union (NFU) has repeatedly urged legislators to provide American families and businesses with the help they need … Read More