The $8.3 billion included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for Bureau of Reclamation water infrastructure projects, which California Farm Bureau helped secure, will allocate funding over the next five years. This specific funding announcement is part of the $1.05 billion available for Water Storage, Groundwater Storage and Conveyance Projects. Read the full announcement here.

On Tuesday, the USDA announced nearly $800 million in assistance has already been distributed for distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans under a $3.1 billion effort passed under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). According to a press release, the already allotted funds have helped approximately 11,000 delinquent direct and guaranteed borrowers, and 2,100 borrowers who had their farms foreclosed but still had remaining debt post-closure. In addition, they will be going through several thousand case-by-case situations in order to review and assist existing delinquencies from “complex” cases.

With over $2 billion still budgeted towards the effort, any applicable farmers utilizing USDA farm loans are encouraged to take a closer look at the details provided on their Distressed Borrowers page. The IRA included billions towards a number of programs within USDA, many of which have begun the early stages of being rolled out. The administration has acknowledged not only the existing challenges pre-pandemic, but the added burdens the agricultural industry has had to endure over these last two years. CAFB will continue to update members as these funds are distributed.

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture is seeking proposals for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) program. The purpose of the SCRI program is to address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry by awarding grants to support research and extension that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture. This is inclusive of both conventional and organic food production systems.

Projects must address at least one of five focus areas:

Projects funded will receive rewards ranging between $50,000 and $10million. There is an estimated total of $80 million in program funding available. For additional information, view the grant description Request for Application here. The deadline to submit applications is January 12, 2023.

This past weekend, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) held a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Forum in Kansas City, MO. The event brought together roughly two hundred dairy farmers, policy developers, federal and state farm bureau presidents and staff, producers, and manufactures—a first-of-its-kind event aimed at creating a unified consensus on recommended changes to the FMMO system. Faults in the system became more pointed during the outset of the pandemic, an issue that many farmers were unable to recover from.

In a press release on Monday, AFBF and the National Milk Producers Federation agreed on a joint statement (found in full here), acknowledging their support for the system but noting that modernization is needed to keep the industry sustainable. Key topics for review included tweaks to all four Class pricing structures, incentives to discourage de-pooling (in certain Order Areas), and improved clarity around the program more holistically. FMMO has often been criticized for its complicated structure and pricing formulas. USDA is expected to hold a major hearing next year that will take these items under consideration.

Last week, legislation was formally introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Gary Peters (D-MI) over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” that have historically been used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products such as non-stick cooking pans and firefighting foams. In recent years, regulators have begun to turn their attention to the potential hazardous effects of PFAS given it has turned up in groundwater, fields, and even farm animals. Due to its nature as more of an “emerging” issue, most local, state, and even federal agencies have few regulations and protective programs in place to adequately address when contaminations have been identified.

For farmers, this has resulted in many farms effectively being shut down or frozen when a potential PFAS contamination is detected. With no financial assistance programs in place to help paralyzed farming operations, a potential contamination could be disastrous for impacted producers. Given this lack of any direct support programs, the Senators are hoping the legislation will spur a public-private partnership aimed at finding the best solutions to address both the regulatory and assistance elements needed in this area. CAFB has been working with other state farm bureaus as well as AFBF on this issue in recent months and will look at ways to engage more in this process on the legislative side.