Tag: Farmers

Judge Halts Debt Relief Program for Farmers of Color After White Farmers Sue

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A federal judge Thursday afternoon suspended a loan forgiveness program that issues relief to farmers and agricultural workers of color.

Judge William Griesbach of Wisconsin’s Eastern District handed down a temporary restraining order after the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed a lawsuit in April. The group alleged in its announcement that President Joe Biden’s relief program was unconstitutional and that white farmers should have been included in the loan program.

“The Court recognized that the federal government’s plan to condition and allocate benefits on the basis of race raises grave constitutional concerns and threatens our clients with irreparable harm, said Rick Esenberg, WILL’s president and general counsel, in a press release Thursday. “The Biden administration is radically undermining bedrock principles of equality under the law.”

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Five White Farmers Sue over Loan Forgiveness Only for Blacks, Other Minorities

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Group of farmers harvesting crops

Christopher Baird owns a dairy farm near Ferryville in southwest Wisconsin, not far from the Mississippi River. He milks about 50 cows and farms approximately 80 acres of pasture.

Like a lot of farmers, Baird has direct loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. 

But the dairy farmer isn’t entitled to a new FSA loan-forgiveness program provided as part of COVID-19 relief in the $2 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, legislation touted Wednesday night by President Joe Biden in his address to Congress. 

Baird is white. He joined four other white farmers Thursday in suing federal officials over being left out.

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Lawmaker Says Biofuel Tax Credit Will Benefit Ohio Drivers, Farmers

The Center Square

From Lake Erie to the Ohio River, acres upon acres of vast cornfields blanket Ohio’s countryside, and an Ohio lawmaker wants state drivers to take advantage of the crop when they fill up their tanks.

Rep. Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, has introduced a bill in the Ohio House that would create a temporary, nonrefundable tax credit on the sale of E15 and higher blended biofuels of 5 cents a gallon.

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Commentary: The Renewable Fuel Standard is not ‘Pro-Farmer’

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With the election around the corner, the D.C. swamp is hard at work.  Various special interests are trying to make their pet issue look like an election asset or liability.  One interest group working overtime is the biofuel lobby.  The federal Renewable Fuel Standard – or RFS – is often falsely labeled as a “pro-farmer” energy policy that helps the Heartland.

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Commentary: The Virus Is Not Invincible, But It’s Exposing Who’s Irreplaceable

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In all the gloom and doom, and media-driven nihilism, there is actually an array of good news. As many predicted, as testing spreads, and we get a better idea of the actual number and nature of cases, the death rate from coronavirus slowly but also seems to steadily decline.

Early estimates from the World Health Organization and the modeling of pessimists of a constant 4 percent death rate for those infected with the virus are for now proving exaggerated for the United States. More likely, as testing spreads, our fatality rates could descend to near 1 percent.

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Billionaire Michael Bloomberg to Visit Minnesotans ‘Shortchanged by Donald Trump’ Wednesday

Anthony Gockowski

Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign announced Tuesday that the Democratic billionaire will make a campaign stop in Minnesota to discuss policies for people “shortchanged by Donald Trump.”

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Requests Farm Bailout from Federal Government Because of Weather

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by Tyler Arnold   Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is seeking federal funding for farms in her state because of the struggles farmers are facing from an unusual wet period and other issues with the weather. “Michigan farmers are in a state of crisis right now because of extraordinary weather conditions,…

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