- Court upholds EPA’s emission reporting exemption for poultry and egg producers (Morning Ag Clips): Late last week, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order confirming a reporting exemption from the air emissions that occur from natural breakdown of farm animal waste. The court affirmed that the reporting exemption under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2019, is appropriate because of the relationship between the reporting mandates under EPCRA and the Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the federal Superfund law.
USDA announces investments in rural Iowa communities (USDA Press Release): On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced $152 million in investments for 19 rural development projects across the State of Iowa.
“Rural communities across America are the backbone of our nation and President Trump is committed to investing in these communities so they continue to be productive and fulfilling places to live for generations to come,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “At USDA, we are proud to fund these historic levels of rural investment and remain committed to working with other federal, state and local government as well as the private sector, to advance President Trump’s vision for rural America. Rural prosperity is truly a national security issue. If our farmers and ranchers do not have the tools and resources to continue to farm, then we cannot feed ourselves. President Trump understands how important it is to have a safe, secure, and resilient farm economy.
Skinny Farm Bill battle brews for the fall (Punchbowl News): Punchbowl News’ Samantha Handler reported late last week that “a farm bill battle is brewing for the fall when a set of key agriculture programs that GOP leaders neglected in their massive reconciliation package will expire.”
“Agriculture Committee Republicans cleared away most of the farm bill in their One Big Beautiful Bill, but now they need Democrats’ help to do the rest. And the OBBB’s deep cuts to SNAP only make bipartisan negotiations more difficult on a short timeline,” Handler reported. “‘Getting a bipartisan farm bill done, that’s the number one question I’ve been asked since I’ve been out here from Democrats and Republicans,’ Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said at Farmfest in Minnesota. ‘I still think there’s hope for that. I think there’s hope for that, because there’s still other work we have to do.’”
Energy projects are up in the air nationwide after Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ (Grist): With the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, U.S. President Donald Trump in many ways delivered on a campaign promise: to gut the country’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.
The newly passed budget law makes steep cuts to programs supporting renewable energy, tree planting, and electric vehicle charging stations, while offering major incentives for oil drilling and exploration and increasing timber demand from national forests. According to White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers, the measure will “turbocharge energy production” and “deliver further relief to American families and businesses.”
Yet, a month after the bill became law, its effects appear to be the opposite. Across the country, program managers, energy specialists, and tribal leaders say they are facing confusion and uncertainty as they await decisions on the future of billions of dollars in IRA-funded initiatives. Grist reports on how local organizations in four different regions are navigating the fallout from these cuts.
Tribal nations rush to preserve clean energy projects as federal support disappears (Grist): When President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) became law last month, it slashed incentives for clean energy projects, including wind and solar tax credits and grants — dealing a major setback to the renewable sector and tribal nations. Federal agencies have since moved to shut down programs, reshaping the project landscape. The exact number of tribal-led projects affected is unclear, but the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy says at least 100 tribes they’ve worked with have received federal and Inflation Reduction Act funds — likely an undercount. “Without that support, most, if not all, of those projects are now at risk of being derailed by the new, unclear federal approval process,” said John Lewis, Native American Energy managing director at Avant Energy.
One example is the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, which had planned solar projects to power a health clinic, schools, and a radio station used for winter storm alerts. Now, under OBBB, construction must begin by next July to keep their tax credits — a deadline that doesn’t allow for the lengthy process of securing financing, completing environmental reviews, and navigating Bureau of Indian Affairs permitting.
- Secretary Rollins announces USDA presidential nominations, rounding out senior leadership (USDA Press Release): “America’s farmers and ranchers have a fighter and a friend in the White House and we have announced a top-notch team at USDA who have hit the ground running and are executing President Trump’s America first vision. Glen, Mindy, and Yvette are proven leaders who will serve America well at USDA, ensuring the American people have restored trust in our services and they will drive policy that increases rural prosperity. When our farmers and ranchers succeed, all of America succeeds,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “At USDA we are ensuring American agriculture will be strong, secure, and resilient by safeguarding our food supply, strengthening critical infrastructure, and defending U.S. agricultural innovation from foreign adversaries. We need all of our Senate confirmed nominees in the building as soon as possible, we have no time to waste to save our family farms.”
The FDA is setting its sights on orange juice (Washington Post): Under a rule proposed last week by the Trump administration, juice could be made from oranges with slightly lower sugar content. While this might sound like a public health move, it’s actually driven by Florida’s citrus industry, which is adjusting to changes in the crop and its natural sugar levels. The agency says the change wouldn’t noticeably alter taste or nutrition, but would give the food industry more flexibility.
The proposal also raises a larger question: how healthy is America’s go-to breakfast drink, really?
Free webinar series for farmers on accepting SNAP payments (Morning Ag Clips): The Maryland Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI), the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, and the University of Maryland Extension SNAP-Ed, are offering farmers a free three-part virtual series on accepting federal food program payments. The series will be held from 1-2pm ET on August 12, 13, and 14.
Interested participants can register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyFe3EYiesjQL1lwiRYSeamGtvb3ukfgp440SdbcS6PfT82Q/viewform