The USDA is considering a plan to put conservation land back into agricultural production -- a move farmers are trumpeting, but environmentalists are opposing.
"At issue is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), under which the government has paid farmers to stop growing row crops, such as corn and soybeans, on 34 million acres across the country. Designed in the mid-1980s to hold down production and bolster commodity prices, the $1.8 billion-a-year program has turned into a major boon for conservation, with much of the acreage planted with perennial grasses or trees, or restored to wetlands."
"But the ethanol boom, widespread flooding and high prices for feed crops have changed the equation. Livestock producers have been howling about the high price of animal feed. Pork producers say they are losing $30 per pig."
"Environmentalists argue that the short-term gains from additional row crops would be outweighed by long-term environmental damage."
Read the full story: USDA Rule Change May Lead To Crops on Conserved Land
NYC's first city-run grocery store coming to the South Bronx
City-owned grocery stores were one of Mayor Mamdani's campaign promises.
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Florida Farm Bill Blocks Local Bans on Gas-Powered Tools
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
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Dallas releases zoning code overhaul to officials
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NYC renovations for dangerous, ‘mercilessly crammed’ street delayed until 2027
Construction was supposed to begin this fall.
San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello