Organic Animal Welfare Standards and SNAP Investigation
**More government scandal in Brazilian where police raided the home of Ag Minister Blairo Maggi in a corruption investigation linked to his time as a state governor, adding to the graft troubles rocking President Michel Temer's government.
Last month the Supreme Court opened a bribery probe into Maggi's role in a scheme that gave monthly stipends to lawmakers in exchange for political support.
The former soybean producer denies any wrongdoing, claiming his accusers "lied" in plea bargain testimony.
**The Organic Trade Association is suing the Department of Agriculture over a decision to delay implementation of the organic animal welfare standards finalized in the final days of the Obama administration.
According to an Agri-Pulse report, the OTA announced action through a lawsuit alleging USDA “unlawfully delayed the effective date of the final livestock standards.”
The rule was published in the Federal Register a day before President Trump’s inauguration. It was originally scheduled to go into effect in March.
AMS says the delay was to allow time for further consideration by USDA.
**The Justice Department is investigating a “significant number” of states for allegedly hiding mistakes in food-stamp payments to win millions in federal performance bonuses.
According to Agri-Pulse, Senators were told Thursday that two states, Virginia and Wisconsin, reached settlements this spring, but 42 states in all were using questionable practices to report error rates.
Anne Coffey, USDA’s assistant inspector general, declined to specify the number of states subject of the DOJ probe.