There’s never a shortage of agriculture news. Here are a few policy stories you may have missed recently.

USDA launches Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network

USDA announced a new initiative intended to help farmers and ranchers regain their financial footing. The Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network will offer support to distressed borrowers by connecting them with individualized assistance through a series of cooperative agreements. Partners in the program include Farm Aid, Rural Advancement Foundation International, the University of Arkansas, the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Center at Alcorn State University, and the University of Minnesota. They will provide loan policy training to community organizations that will work with the Farm Service Agency to help producers better understand available financing options.

FSA officials announced the plan Sept. 21 at the Farm Aid Festival in Saratoga Spring, New York.

 “I started my off-ranch career as a farm advocate, working hand-in-hand with other tireless farmer advocates. Having someone with experiences in ag finance help producers work through financial difficulties can be the difference between them losing the farm or prospering,” FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux says. “The Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network underscores our dedication to farmers and ranchers receiving the tailored support they need. These partnerships also illustrate that USDA acknowledges the importance of these advocates and sees them as part of the solution to ensure program access for all farmers, ranchers, and producers.”

Related:Port workers return to work

Biofuel groups praise House vote to overturn EPA tailpipe emission standards

House lawmakers voted to overturn new EPA tailpipe emission standards that critics say unfairly benefit electric vehicles. In a close vote Sept. 20 vote, eight Democrats joined 207 Republicans to pass the measure by a margin of 215 to 191.

The bill now moves to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future. President Biden has vowed to veto the legislation should it reach his desk.

In March, EPA officials announced the new rule for emission standards for light and medium-duty vehicles. While the rule did not explicitly call for more electric vehicles, its tougher emissions standards mean automakers would have to significantly increase EV production to stay on the good side of the law.

Ethanol and biofuel producers complained that the rule overlooks what they say are the environmental and practical benefits of their products. The National Corn Growers Association, which has already taken legal action to stop the rule, praised the House vote.

Related:Port strike couldn’t come at worse time for farmers

“The members of Congress who passed this legislation understand well that there are many different tools that we can use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” NCGA President Harold Wolle says. “While it could take years to realize the potential that EVs offer, ethanol is an effective part of a portfolio of options for addressing climate concerns, and it is fully available for use today.”

U.S. and Nepal look to expand trade relationship

Officials form the United States and Nepal held their seventh Trade and Investment Framework Agreement council meeting on Sept. 16 in Kathmandu. It was chaired by Assistant United States Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch and Nepal Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Secretary Gobinda Bahadur Karkee.

Both nations’ delegations discussed bilateral trade and investment with a focus on agriculture, labor rights, digital economy, trade in services, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property protection and enforcement, and information sharing.

U.S. officials were please with Nepal’s confirmation that it would not restrict American pork and poultry imports. The Nepal delegation also said it would “officially communicate” it’s acceptance of U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service certificates to import pork and poultry in the coming months.

Related:Congress pushes again for year-round E15

Both nations agreed to an eighth TIFA council meeting next year in Washington.

RFA demands stronger rules for imported feedstocks

The Renewable Fuels Association is demanding answers from EPA on imported biofuel feedstocks. RFA officials say that more stringent verification requirements for imported used cooking oil and tallow.

In a Sept. 17 letter to EPA administrator Michal Regan, RFA President Geoff Cooper says warned of severe consequences if verification and recordkeeping requirements are not tightened. He says the “deluge of questionable imports” of used cooking oil and tallow threaten to inflict further economic harm on U.S. farmers and biofuel producers and undermine the integrity of the Renewable Fuels Standards program.

According to Cooper, those imports are suppressing demand for U.S. produced feedstocks like distiller corn our and soybean oils, as well as the crops from which they are derived.

“Monthly tallow and UCO imports combined have jumped from 52 million pounds in January 2021 to 627 million pounds in July 2024, a 12-fold increase,” Cooper says. “Today, nearly one out of every six gallons of U.S.-produced BBD is made from imported UCO or tallow—most of which comes from China and Brazil, two countries that maintain punitive import tariffs on U.S. biofuels.