POLICY WATCH
PENNSYLANIA The Hershey Company, Land O’Lakes, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay have formed a partnership to help improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The goal is to implement onfarm practices that reduce erosion, improve wildlife habitat, reduce water pollution, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Initial funding for Sustainable Dairy PA came from the Hershey Company’s $300,000 pledge to help install agricultural conservation practices on 119 Land O’Lakes member-owner farms in central Pennsylvania. These farms ship 50% or more of their milk to The Hershey Company. This partnership has the potential to reach more than 400 Land O’Lakes member farms that supply milk to Hershey as funding and support expands.
WASHINGTON, D.C. A bill concerning agriculture was reintroduced in mid-July after its original introduction in January 2020. The Farm System Reform Act, presented by Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Representative Ro Khanna, D-Calif., places much emphasis on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Action items in the proposed bill include: • Placing an immediate moratorium on the construction and expansion of CAFOs • Phasing out CAFOs by 2040 • Providing a voluntary buyout and transition funding for farmers who want to exit CAFO operations • Holding corporate integrators responsible for pollution and other harm caused by CAFOs • Strengthening the Packers and Stockyards Act to ensure fair contracts and treatment of farmers • Restoring mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef and pork and expanding it jofnm.com
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to dairy products • Prohibiting the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) from labeling imported meat as products of the U.S.A. While the proposed bill has the support of animal rights, environmental, and sustainability groups, some organizations within agriculture do not feel the same way. For instance, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association labeled the act as “misguided.”
MARYLAND The Maryland Department of Agriculture awarded more than $2.9 million in grants from its Animal Waste Technology Fund. These grants are intended to help poultry and dairy farmers improve how they manage manure, protect natural resources, and pursue renewable energy sources. Funding will go toward a poultry litter gasification and dryer facility, manure injection equipment, and an anaerobic digester on a dairy. Funding for the program is provided by the Maryland Energy Administration and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund. To date, the program has awarded $10.7 million in grants to approved projects.
IOWA Researchers at Iowa State University received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to investigate how livestock manure management systems affect the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The project will build upon previous research and fill gaps in the scientific understanding of how livestock farming and manure management can reduce antibiotic resistance. They will also assess the feasibility of certain practices, such as composting and anaerobic digestion, in stopping the spread of resistant bacteria.
WASHINGTON A panel of judges determined Washington’s rules for storing and spreading manure are too lenient to protect the state’s water supply and sent them back to the Department of Ecology for revision. The department was already working on a new CAFO permit proposal since the current regulations expire in March 2022 and was expected to release a draft for public review in the near future. It is uncertain how the court’s ruling will affect the timeline for updating the rules. The CAFO permit was issued by the Department of Ecology in 2017. The regulations did not satisfy the dairy industry or the environmental groups, so both sides appealed portions of the permits.
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