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USDA Announces $35 Million Fertilizer Funding

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced $35 million in partner projects with American business owners as part of the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP).

Seven projects in seven different states, California, Iowa, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin, will receive grants. The grant amounts range from $776,819 to $11.77 million.

“It allows us the opportunity to develop new ways of fertilizing to reduce costs and also a better understanding of when, where, and how to fertilize,” USDA said.

“We know that there are a lot of acres out there that probably we may be overfertilizing. As we develop sensor technology and add information, we can do a better job with the fertilizers we have.”

To date, 64 projects in 32 states have been given a total of $286.6 million through FPEP grants. There are more projects under consideration for approval.

“We’re just beginning this process and have more projects we’re in the process of reviewing from an environmental standpoint. Over the course of the next few months or so we’ll be making additional announcements,” USDA said.

As H5N1 has shown up in cattle herds across the country in 2024, the USDA has been monitoring the work of various companies on a vaccine for the illness.

USDA announced it has given authorization for a field trial of one company’s vaccine to take place which is the next step in vaccine development.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to develop the vaccine] in the near term with the information we get from this field trial,” USDA said. “That will allow us to determine the next steps to ensure safe, effective use of the vaccine.”

USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) in Ames, Iowa, will be overseeing the field trial efforts.

A Congressional roundtable took place before the press conference.

“The voices of American agriculture, showed in the bill that came together,” USDA said.

No such bill has come through the Senate yet, and with only weeks left in the current session, which runs through September.

At the beginning of the post-press conference media session, USDA announced updated guidance for the substantiation of meat and poultry food labels.

Voluntary labels such as “Grass Fed,” “Free Range,” and “Climate-Friendly” have been in use but have not always been accurate depictions of those products, officials said.

In addition, products with “negative” antibiotic claims like “Raised Without Antibiotics” are recommended to implement regular testing prior to slaughter or to get a third-party certification.

“A number of meat products indicated they were antibiotic-free,” USDA said. “It turns out, 20 percent of those products were not antibiotic-free. That has led to tightening the guidance and strengthening the guidance to the industry about claims of that nature. Consumers place value on those claims.”

This is the first update of Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)’s claim guidance since 2019.

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