The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced earlier this week that they were again extending its waiver deadline for those in need of baby formula.

On Wednesday, the agency said the waivers made available through the federal WIC nutrition program would be extended through the end of the year.

The current waivers were set to expire on Sept. 30.

“USDA recognizes the flexibilities provided by these waivers remain necessary as we continue to pull every lever to address infant formula supply issues and provide certainty for families,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. “We will continue to work all hands on deck to ensure families can access infant formula, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to get more safe formula on store shelves nationwide.”

The waiver program was first introduced in June to deal with the infant formula crisis.

The crisis began in February amid the coronavirus pandemic and then was exacerbated after Abbott announced a voluntary recall and then had to shut its Michigan factory due to contamination, the agency said.

The agency said close to 500 waivers have been issued to WIC state agencies.

The federal government is making it easier for farmers to grow food as the nation faces record inflation and supply chain issues.

The USDA is allowing farmers to insure a second crop planted and harvested on the same piece of land — a practice known as double or relay cropping.

One farmer in Iowa started planting a second crop back in 2016.

Until this week, it was illegal to insure his second crop — soybeans.

"That's why we have these meetings to help other farms understand what we're doing. That's why we push so hard with the insurance program. I went on my own without insurance. I could handle that, but I know for other farmers to transition they need that crutch," Loran Steinlage said.

The USDA said the goal is to help avoid a food shortage.

Watch the video above for the full story.

Butterball is recalling 14,107 pounds of ground turkey products that could be contaminated with blue plastic, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The ground turkey items included in the recall were produced on Sept. 28. The products include 2.5-pound trays containing "Farm to Family Butterball all natural ground turkey" with the case code 50211271, a sell or freeze by date of Oct. 18 and timestamps from 2123 through 2302 on the packaging.

Also included in the recall are 3-pound trays containing Kroger ground turkey with the case code 50211271, a sell or freeze by date of Oct. 17 and timestamps from 2314 through 2351 on the packaging.

The recalled items were shipped to retailers nationwide.

According to the USDA news release, customers reported pieces of blue plastic embedded in raw ground turkey to Butterball and the USDA's inspection service.

There have been no confirmed reports of injuries due to consumption of the recalled products.

USDA officials are concerned that consumers may have some of the recalled products in their refrigerators or freezers. Anyone who purchased the products should not consume them. The USDA recommends throwing them away or returning them to the place of purchase.

Consumer questions about the recall can be directed to the Butterball Consumer Hotline at (800) 288-8372.

For decades, Black farmers say they have been at the mercy of historically discriminatory lending practices by the U.S. government and banks that do not treat them fairly.

“Farming is really hard for white males, and if it’s really hard for white males, then it’s dreadful for anyone else,” said Zephrine Hanson, an urban farmer who grows small crops she then sells to artisan shops.

Hanson and others say the practices have led to a precipitous decline in the number of Black farmers in our country.

According to the Census of Agriculture, there were roughly 1 million Black farmers in the United States in 1920, comprising around 14 percent of the total number of farmers in the United States.

In 2020, according to the same data, the number of Black farmers in the U.S. had fallen to 45,000, comprising only 1.4 percent of all farmers.

“You know, when you take a man’s farm, it’s not like he’s going down to work at McDonald’s,” said Dr. John Boyd, CEO of the National Black Farmer’s Association. “You break his spirit. You take his history, and dignity, and respect, and you crush him.”

Boyd says he founded the NBFA in the 1980s after he and four other Black farmers would experience discriminatory practices at the hands of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) when they would go into the office and ask for loans.

“At one particular time, [the director of the local USDA] spat on my shirt,” said Boyd. “He tore my application up and threw it in the trash can. I was pleading for $5,000, and this white farmer comes in, during my time when I’m supposed to be getting this loan, and he passes [the white farmer] a government check for $157,000.”

We reached out twice to the USDA for comment but have not gotten a response.

Boyd says, today, discrimination is less blatant. It can be something like pleasantly-worded letters saying loans cannot be processed and a farmer will have to try again next year. But to farmers of color, it is difficult; federal loans are often their only funding option outside of predatory lenders and suppliers who charge outrageous interest rates.

Otherwise, in a business built on credit, Black farmers are pushed out and forced to sell their farms.

“I’ll be honest, I hope the USDA changes, but I’m not waiting,” said Hanson. “That’s definitely something they’ll have to want to change.”

In 1997, more than 400 Black farmers filed a class action lawsuit against the USDA in what became known as Pigford vs. Glickman, charging the agency with discrimination against Black farmers. The government settled for more than $1.25 billion, the largest discrimination settlement ever paid by the federal government.

WASHINGTON —

The Biden administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food stamp assistance available to needy families—the largest single increase in the program's history.

Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps (officially known as the SNAP program) will rise more than 25 percent above pre-pandemic levels. The increased assistance will be available indefinitely to all 42 million SNAP beneficiaries.

The aid boost was first reported by The New York Times and the details were confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture. They will be formally announced Monday by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The aid boost is being packaged as a major revision of the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan. In concrete terms, the average monthly per-person benefits will rise from $121 to $157.

The increase is part of a multi-pronged Biden administration effort to strengthen the country's social safety net. Poverty and food security activists maintain that longstanding inadequacies in that safety net were laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting an opportunity to make generational improvements that reach beyond the current public health crisis.

Activists say the previous levels of pre-pandemic SNAP assistance simply weren't enough, forcing many households to choose cheaper, less nutritious options or simply go hungry as the funds ran low toward the end of the month.

Demand for U.S.-made goods is surging. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is projecting a record $157 billion in farm exports during the fiscal year 2021.

“In 2020, beef exports equated to roughly $270 per head. In 2021, taken at USDA’s number, it equates to more like $280 to $300 per head,” said Billy Schmitz, who works as a risk manager at a feedlot in Colorado.

The lot where Schmitz works, Five Rivers Cattle Feed, cares for 80,000 cattle. Based on his projections, the increase in exports could mean anywhere from $800,000 to $2.4 million of extra in revenue this year.

“Things have very much improved [since COVID first began],” he said.

Experts say much of the bump comes from China’s involvement in the U.S. market. In 2018, China only committed to purchasing $9.1 billion in exports from the United States, but this year, they have committed $38 billion after former President Donald Trump signed a phase one trade deal with the country in January of 2020.

“We kind of had these adverse conditions [because of COVID] that led to government support,” said the USDA’s chief economist, Seth Meyer. “[We’re] exchanging those for market-based dollars.”

Exports affect multiple parts of the economy. Not only does it contribute to the Gross Domestic Product, but it increases spending among consumers: helpful to small businesses that endured hardships throughout the pandemic.

“It provides us with a bit of relief, not only as cattle producers, but as farm and ranch families, too,” said Schmitz.

2021’s projection marks a steep increase from years of fluctuating export numbers, as well as the highest surplus since 2017.

In 2015, the USDA reported $139.8 billion in exports, $129.6 billion in 2016, $140.2 billion in 2017, $143.4 billion in 2018, $135.5 billion in 2019, and $135.7 billion in 2020.