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Trump Outlines Administration’s Work on Agriculture

/in , /by /Ag Alert (Sacramento, Calif.)by Dave Kranz

Saying he had kept his promise to do everything at his disposal “to protect the American farmer and restore the full strength of American agriculture,” President Donald Trump described actions his administration has taken on trade, regulatory reform and other fronts on behalf of farmers and ranchers.

Trump spoke Sunday to the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Austin, Texas—the third year in a row the president has spoken to the nation’s largest farm organization. He also pledged to return to next year’s AFBF convention, which will be held in San Diego.

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Trump Hails WOTUS Overhaul as Critics Call for Investigation

/in , /by /E&E News by Jeremy P. Jacobs

President Trump yesterday touted his repeal of key Clean Water Act regulations as more than three dozen current and former government officials called for an investigation into the scientific basis of his forthcoming replacement rule.

Trump told a gathering of the country’s farmers that last fall he repealed “one of the most ridiculous regulations of all,” the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, rule, which defined which marshes, creeks and streams quality for federal protections.

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How a Closed-Door Meeting Shows Farmers are Waking Up on Climate Change

/in , , /by /Politico California by Helena Bottemiller Evich

The meeting last June in a wood-beamed barn in Newburg, Md., an hour due south of Washington, had all the makings of a secret conclave. The guest list was confidential. No press accounts were allowed. The topic was how to pivot American agriculture to help combat climate change — an issue so politically toxic that the current administration routinely shies away from promoting crucial government research on the issue.

But this meeting represented a change. It was hosted by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, a group made up of the heavyweights in American agriculture. It brought together three secretaries of agriculture, including the current one, Sonny Perdue, among an A-list of about 100 leaders that included the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation — a longtime, powerful foe of federal action on climate — and CEOs of major food companies, green groups and anti-hunger advocates.

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