skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Rural Advocates: Restore Renewable Energy Money to Farm Bill

play audio
Play

Monday, May 14, 2018   

AMES, Iowa – Farmers and small business owners who want to embrace renewable energy will not get any help from the federal government under the proposed farm bill headed to the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

Funding for the Rural Energy Assistance Program (REAP) has been eliminated in the current draft.

The program has provided guaranteed grants or loans to purchase, install and construct renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements to non-residential buildings and facilities.

Katie Rock, a policy associate at the Center for Rural Affairs, says the program also has funded renewable technologies that reduce energy consumption.

"So, the cost savings that are offered through these programs, once they can make these upgrades, can be substantial for farms and businesses enough that they can expand or hire more people to run their business," she stresses.

The farm bill is renewed every five years. The 2014 bill included $50 million a year in REAP funding.

Rock notes that many farmers want to be more energy independent, but with farm income at its lowest point in 12 years, they can't tackle such projects without the loans or grants offered through REAP.

"Especially right now in our farm economy, any creative way to finance these kinds of changes are a great asset to small businesses," she states.

Since 2008, more than 13,000 projects in all 50 states have received REAP awards.

Rock says one of those was an Iowa farmer who used the funds to upgrade a turkey barn with LED lighting and benefitted on two fronts.

"And not only was it a huge cost savings for them, but they noticed a difference in the health of the turkeys which they really didn't expect and can't really explain," she relates.

The current draft of the farm bill calls for possibly appropriating money for REAP on an annual basis, meaning at best the funds for next year would be cut from $50 million to $20 million, and at worst, the program would be eliminated.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021