MARY CLARE JALONICK

Read the latest stories and analysis from MARY CLARE JALONICK.

Court says EPA overestimates biofuels production

MARY CLARE JALONICK · January 25, 2013 10:05 pm

Vilsack to stay on as agriculture secretary

MARY CLARE JALONICK · January 14, 2013 7:52 pm

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 27: Milk is offered for sale at a grocery store on December 27, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Milk prices could spike to $6 to $8 a gallon in January if lawmakers fail to reach a "fiscal cliff" deal and renew a Farm Bill that's been in place since 2008 and sets the price at which the government buys milk. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Deal will prevent spike in milk prices

MARY CLARE JALONICK · January 1, 2013 5:00 am

FILE - In this July 18, 2012, file photo, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talks about the drought during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. The fear that federal crop insurance subsidies are becoming fertile ground for big spending cuts in negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff has rural lawmakers and their leaders shopping for a compromise on a farm bill this week to protect them. Vilsack warned Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, that if the congressional agriculture committees don't strike a deal soon then White House and Republicans working to avert the so-called fiscal cliff at the end of the year may cut farm programs that members of Congress want to protect. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Crop insurance juicy target in ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

MARY CLARE JALONICK · December 15, 2012 5:00 am

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012, file photo, side salads await the students of Eastside Elementary School in Clinton, Miss. The Agriculture Department is responding to criticism over new school lunch rules by allowing kids to eat more grains and meat in the lunchroom. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a letter to members of Congress Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, that the department will do away with daily and weekly maximums of meats and grains. Several members of Congress have written the department since the new rules went into effect in September saying kids arenât getting enough to eat. School administrators have also complained, saying that set maximums on grains and meats are too limiting as they try to plan daily meals. "This flexibility is being provided to allow more time for the development of products that fit within the new standards while granting schools additional weekly menu planning options to help ensure that children receive a wholesome, nutritious meal every day of the week," Vilsack said in a letter to Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

USDA to allow more meat, grains in school lunches

MARY CLARE JALONICK · December 8, 2012 5:00 am

FILE - In this July 18, 2012, file photo, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talks about the drought during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. Vilsack has some harsh words for rural America: It's "becoming less and less relevant," he says. A month after an election that Democrats won even as rural parts of the country voted overwhelmingly Republican, the former Democratic governor of Iowa told farm belt leaders this past week that he's frustrated with their internecine squabbles and says they need to be more strategic in picking their political fights. "It's time for us to have an adult conversation with folks in rural America," Vilsack said in a speech at a forum sponsored by the Farm Journal. "It's time for a different thought process here, in my view." He said rural America's biggest assets â the food supply, recreational areas and energy, for example â can be overlooked by people elsewhere as the U.S. population shifts more to cities, their suburbs and exurbs. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

USDA chief: Rural America becoming less relevant

MARY CLARE JALONICK · December 8, 2012 5:00 am

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., right, talks with Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, before a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012, where they discussed the debate on tax rates and the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Ag chair says she’s open to more food stamp cuts

MARY CLARE JALONICK · December 5, 2012 11:56 pm

FDA suspends operations at peanut butter plant

MARY CLARE JALONICK · November 27, 2012 7:50 am

GOP blocks bill to give hunters more land access

MARY CLARE JALONICK · November 27, 2012 1:49 am

FDA halts operations at peanut butter plant

MARY CLARE JALONICK · November 26, 2012 5:00 am

EPA turns down states’ request for ethanol waiver

MARY CLARE JALONICK · November 16, 2012 9:39 pm

FDA: Company shipped tainted peanut butter

MARY CLARE JALONICK · November 15, 2012 10:51 pm