The Agriculture Department faces large spending cuts, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday while a White House official said President Trump will ask for one “one of the largest spending reductions in history” in the upcoming fiscal 2020 budget. Perdue told reporters that he encouraged the administration to submit a package “within the realm of negotiation,” considering Congress rejected outright Trump’s previous budgets. [node:read-more:link]

Two states fighting an escalating hepatitis C crisis will soon pay a flat fee for unlimited drugs — Netflix style — to treat prisoners and low-income residents suffering from the deadly liver disease, with the goal of all but eliminating the infection. Both states will pay a drugmaker to provide enough medication each year to treat its prisoners and Medicaid patients. [node:read-more:link]

For energy-related programs, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Act) authorizes appropriations of $835 million over 5 years, an increase over the $690 million authorized in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Act). In contrast, mandatory funding over 5 years is $375 million in the 2018 Farm Act, about 55 percent of the $685 million provided by the 2014 Farm Act. Total 5-year funding for energy programs (mandatory funding plus authorized appropriations) declined from $1,375 million under the 2014 Farm Act to $1,210 million under the 2018 Farm Act. [node:read-more:link]

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Act): Consolidates USDA’s four market development and export promotion programs into a new Agricultural Trade Promotion and Facilitation Program and provides the Secretary of Agriculture new flexibility in promoting trade.Permits Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Cooperator Program funding for activities in Cuba, with the restriction that funds are not used in contravention of the policy outlined in National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 of June 16, 2017.Expands technical assistance and extension efforts to increase [node:read-more:link]

Seven workers at a Tennessee beef slaughter plant raided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last year are suing the agency for alleged violations of their constitutional rights. The National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the Southern Poverty Law Center and the law firm of Sherrard, Roe, Voigt & Harbison filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of the workers, who were in a group of about 100 Latino employees detained in the April 2018 raid at Southeastern Provision. [node:read-more:link]

A northeast Washington legislator Friday laid out for the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee the state of ranching in wolf country. "My folks are at the breaking point right now. I've got people who are not going to continue in the business," said Rep. Joel Kretz, who figures about 90 percent of the state's wolves are in the four counties he represents."We're going to see more family ranches going by the wayside. That might not sound like a big deal to some of you in more urban areas, but it is the base economy in some of these counties," he said. [node:read-more:link]

Is the "ugly produce'" trend already reaching the end of its shelf life in supermarkets?Walmart and Whole Foods in recent years tried selling some blemished fruits and vegetables at a discount, produce they said might otherwise be trashed because it's not quite the right size, shape or color. [node:read-more:link]

At least 57 times in 2017, and many more last year, Georgetown’s residents paid EDF, a company owned 84.5% by the government of France, around 6 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity produced in the middle of the night when demand was low—so low, in fact, that because of tax incentives and government subsidies, the price for power was negative. Put simply: Texas taxpayers paid the French government for power and then, to add insult to injury, paid the grid to take the excess power off their hands. [node:read-more:link]

Human and machine have 10 seconds per plant. They must find the ripe strawberries in the leaves, gently twist them off the stems and tuck them into a plastic clamshell. Repeat, repeat, repeat, before the fruit spoils. [node:read-more:link]

Washington dairy farmers and fruit growers would have to report to retailers whether they use slaves under a bill endorsed Thursday by Democrats on the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. [node:read-more:link]