Year-round H2A Policy Moves Forward

The U.S. House Appropriation Committee has approved a bipartisan amendment that could provide a temporary year-round H-2A guest worker solution.

USDA to Provide Pandemic Assistance to Livestock Producers for Animal Losses

Livestock and poultry producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing can apply for assistance for those losses and the cost of depopulation and disposal of the animals. 

Generational Transfer Tax Law changes – could you be impacted?

The proposed tax law changes have, at many times, been presented as only impacting the wealthy. That said, they may have positive or negative impact on agricultural producers; it’s definitely complicated!

There are also significant proposals being floated to change estate tax laws — including Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 99.5 Percent Act and a Democratic Coalition proposal called the Sensible Taxation and Equity Promotion (STEP) Act.

FASHION LABEL CHANEL COMMITS ANCHOR INVESTMENT OF $25M FOR THE LANDSCAPE RESILIENCE FUND

French fashion label Chanel has committed $25 million as an anchor investment in The Landscape Resilience Fund (LRF) – a new climate adaptation fund looking to raise $100 million by 2025 to support sustainable agriculture, protect forests, and to support smallholder farmers in developing countries. 

USDA to invest $10M to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing $10 million to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry through voluntary conservation practices . . .  in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin can apply for this funding opportunity. Each state will determine its own signup period, with signups expected to begin on or around June 24 in most states.

MiFarmLink Project enews 06.28.2021

Land access. Mentors. Resources. Capital. These are some of the primary needs that are common among beginning farmers. In Ottawa County in West Michigan, only 8% of farmers are under 35 years old and 30% are over the age of 65. The MiFarmLink Project, funded in part by the USDA, brings service providers together to collaboratively to address beginning farmer needs. 

MiFarmLink aims to help new farmers find land and resources

Michigan agriculture is in transition, considering nearly a third of the state’s farmers are aged 65 and over while new and beginning farmers currently make up a quarter of the farming population.

The gender and racial demographics of this new crop of farmers are also more diverse than the state’s farming population as a whole.

USDA announces additional aid for ag producers, businesses

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today additional aid to agricultural producers and businesses as part of the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. Earlier this year, Secretary Vilsack announced plans to use available pandemic assistance funds to address a number of gaps and disparities in previous rounds of aid. 

Texas A&M study confirms devastating impact of Inheritance Tax Code changes on family farms

A newly released Texas A&M’s Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) study of U.S. Senate legislation calling for changes to the Capital Gains and Estate Tax would take a heavy toll on family farms.

USDA to Invest $1 Billion to Purchase Healthy Food for Food Insecure Americans and Build Food Bank C

First Investment of the New ‘Build Back Better’ Initiative Will Serve as a Bridge from Pandemic Assistance to Food System Transformation