Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is canceling the Biden-era USDA Climate Smart Program, calling it a “slush fund.”
It is being renamed and comes with major changes in how the money is spent.
Secretary Rollins says her Department went through the Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodoties program line by line and found farmers and ranchers were being left with little help after various fees. She has renamed the program the Advancing Markets for Producers initiative.
USDA will review any exisitng grants, making sure they meet certain critera. The largest being 65 percent of federal dollars must go to producers.
Rollins says the prior program was largely built as a “green new scam” that did not benefit American farmers.
Related Stories
Starting Monday, April 29, the USDA will require free avian flu (HPAI H5N1) testing on all dairy cattle before interstate travel. Positive cases must be directly reported to the USDA for tracing.
After months of declining consumer egg prices, buyers could be facing a sharp increase in costs as prices surge upwards once again.
As the USDA tracks how Plant Hardiness Zones are slowly shifting across the country, they are also adjusting their recommendations for gardeners when it comes to perennial plants. The data is also used the by Risk Management Agency to determine crop insurance rates.
Agriculture Accounting Expert Paul Neiffer joined us Friday on Market Day Report to take a further look.