Lock and Dam No. 25 on the Mississippi River near St. Louis is more than 80 years old and in need of renovation, so farm-funded groups are joining to try to get the work started by injecting $1 million into the process.
View More
View More
Category: Legislative Updates
View More
Total construction spending edged higher in October, as gains in public and private project types outmatched decreases in single- and multifamily residential outlays, according to a new analysis of federal construction spending data the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Officials noted that public sector investments would likely rise in the near future because of the recently-passed infrastructure bill, but cautioned that labor shortages and supply chain problems were posing significant challenges for the industry.
View More
The Department of Agriculture is providing a fresh $1.15 billion in ReConnect program funding to expand broadband availability in rural communities. The new funding will be available for projects in areas where 90% of households lack service with download speeds of 100 megabits per second download speeds and upload speeds of 20 Mbps.
View More
As dam failures and incidents occur both nationally and internationally, there is a pressing need to understand the underlying causes for failure to help minimize such occurrences in the future. Current information on historical dam incidents is scattered, incomplete, missing, and sometimes misleading – making it difficult for owners and practitioners to easily access meaningful information that could assist them with critical design and operational decisions. If lessons learned and best practices are not effectively communicated, there is a possibility that poor practices will be repeated, and preventable incidents will not be averted.
View More
Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends is a priority for many Americans, but paying attention to how the meal will impact the budget is also important. Farm Bureau’s 36th annual survey indicates the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast for 10 is $53.31 or less than $6.00 per person. This is a $6.41 or 14% increase from last year’s average of $46.90.
View More
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), a key architect of the bill, commented on the bill becoming law on November 15, 2021
View More
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed an important member of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s team at USDA, approving the nomination of Robert Bonnie to be undersecretary for farm production and conservation.
The vote was 76-19, with more than two dozen Republicans backing Bonnie, including farm-state lawmakers such as Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Thune and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.
View More
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is beginning the process of establishing the first regulations for protecting workers from heat. OSHA will be gathering comments on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, or ANPR, through Dec. 27. The agency is seeking input on issues such as heat-stress thresholds, heat-acclimatization planning and exposure monitoring.
View More
In their continuing effort to reach out to interested industry partners, NRCS Chief Cosby and his senior staff briefed NLICA and other interested stakeholders on the Service’s recent activities. Chief Cosby highlighted the three agency policy priorities: diversity, climate and urban agriculture. You can view the three Powerpoint briefing presentations on the subjects.
View More
Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to hold a vote on both the Build Back Better Act and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill today. A vote sometime in the next two days on legislation calling for nearly $3 trillion in federal spending that’s been delayed for weeks. Predicting congressional votes is a short-term career but House leadership, especially after fallout from this Tuesday’s elections, are being pressured to Build Back Better fast!
View More