Alex Brown

2 weeks ago | ncnewsline.com | Alex Brown |Alex Brown

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — In the wake of recent natural disasters, state leaders across the country are finding that emergency support from the federal government is no longer a given. Under President Donald Trump, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied federal assistance for tornadoes in Arkansas, flooding in West Virginia and a windstorm in Washington state. It also has refused North Carolina’s request for extended relief funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Jul 2, 2024 | greenfieldreporter.com | Alex Brown

By Alex Brown, Inside INdiana Business A new report from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture shows that the state lost an estimated 350,000 acres of farmland over a 12-year period. The Indiana General Assembly passed House Enrolled Act 1557 last year, tasking the ISDA to estimate the amount of farmland lost—as well as the cause of it—from 2010 to 2022. “As a starting point, if you want to do something about it, you first have to know what reality is,” ISDA Director Don Lamb said.

Dec 6, 2023 | ibj.com | Alex Brown

Ag producers are more optimistic about their financial performance and prospects, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. However, many producers still have some concerns heading into 2024. The barometer is calculated monthly from a telephone survey of 400 agricultural producers across the country. The newest survey was conducted November 13-17, and saw the barometer rise 5 points, to 115, a 12% increase over the same period the previous year.

Aug 18, 2023 | ncnewsline.com | Alex Brown

by Alex Brown, NC Newsline August 18, 2023 PACKWOOD, Wash. — Last year, Don Pratt fled from his home as a wildfire swept down the mountainside here in Washington’s Cascade Range. “Heading out, I thought it was the last time I was going to see the house,” he said. As residents evacuated and smoke engulfed the small mountain community, fire crews with bulldozers and hand tools cut fuel breaks around Packwood’s Timberline neighborhood.

May 28, 2023 | columbian.com | Alex Brown

Over the next few years, state tree nurseries across the country will build new greenhouses, expand irrigation systems, upgrade seeding equipment and bring on staff. They’re hoping to turn millions of new federal dollars into millions of new seedlings — part of a collaborative effort to reforest landscapes threatened by climate change. “We’re going to need so many seedlings,” Homer Wilkes, undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told Stateline.