FSA Grants for Washington and Sterile Fly Plant Stench
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**The USDA’s Farm Service Agency is delivering approximately $255 million in farm safety net and conservation program payments to Washington farmers, ranchers and landowners.
USDA recently announced nationwide historic safety net assistance totaling $13.8 billion in gross payments through the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2025 crop year and an additional $1.8 billion in Conservation Reserve Program annual payments for 2026.
**Residents in Metapa de Dominguez (meh-TAH-pah deh doh-
MEEN-gez), Mexico, are demanding the closure of a sterile-fly production plant, complaining that a strong, rotten-meat odor is disrupting daily life as it spreads across town, causes nausea, and reaches schools near the facility.
Protesters are asking authorities to address the problem, particularly for children and elderly residents.
Reuters said the plant opened in June as part of a U.S.-Mexican effort to combat New World Screwworm.
**European agriculture risks falling further behind major global competitors unless farmers gain faster access to new technologies, according to a report commissioned by Bayer.
Analysis by Oxford Economics found crop production in the European Union grew just 0.1% annually from 2011 through 2023.
Growth in the United Kingdom was flat, compared with 1% in the U.S. and 2% globally.
The report shows rising input costs and climate-related losses are adding pressure.
