Dan Charles
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The two departments have a key role in supporting American households. HUD has responsibility for affordable housing, while USDA oversees food assistance programs.
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Several big farm groups, traditionally hostile to environmental regulations, are now working with environmental advocates in support of farmer-friendly actions to reduce carbon emissions.
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Farmworker advocates are accusing the U.S. Department of Agriculture of trying to cut the wages of farmworkers who come to the U.S. on temporary guest worker visas.
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Some of the first GMOs – corn and cotton plants that have been genetically modified to fend off insects – are running into problems. Bugs have become resistant to them because they've been overused.
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The Trump administration has been buying food from farmers and getting it to food banks. Food banks, however, say the program was not set up to deliver food efficiently.
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Rattan Lal, an Indian-born scientist, has devoted his career to finding ways to capture carbon from the air and store it in soil. Today, that idea has a catchy name: regenerative agriculture.
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A trillion dollars worth of American farmland will change hands in the coming years. Wealthy investors are likely to buy more of it with the power to shape rural communities and the environment.
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When COVID-19 infections forced pork companies to close processing plants, some farmers predicted that it would force them to euthanize millions of hogs. The actual number has been much lower.
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The charitable organizations called food banks are getting a lot of attention and donations right now. But they aren't nearly as important or effective as SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.
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Tyson Foods is halting work at a processing site in Waterloo, Iowa, because people have tested positive for the virus. Other plants also have closed, cutting U.S. pork production by about a quarter.