Ag Policy Blog

Through a contractor, USDA distributes more than 140 different food items to as many as 276 Tribes nationally. That program broke down over the summer after USDA canceled a contract for a distribution company and started relying on just one supplier.

Nebraska's governor has signed an executive order banning state agencies from buying lab-grown protein products and create a new rule to add more labels for those products. Three other states have either banned the sale of lab-grown meats or added similar restrictions.

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican and former Nebraska governor, held a forum at the Nebraska State Fair to offer Republicans a chance to criticize Biden regulatory policies and counter some of the themes coming out of last week's Democratic National Convention.

Iowa families with low-income children lost out on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) this summer while farmers hit hard by weather disasters are losing out as well.

Acreage numbers provided by USDA put the total CRP acreage around 26.4 million acres, the most since 2013. The 2018 farm bill authorized CRP to top out at 27 million acres.

The Harris campaign on Friday stated the vice president's plan for the first 100 days in office would be to bring down costs for American families. That includes creating the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries.

Senators and USDA have different views about how the department is supposed to implement a requirement to modernize reporting of foreign land ownership. Iowa and other states also weigh in on a potential Supreme Court case. CNN looks at Sen. JD Vance's investment in...

In an interview on a Sunday talk show, Ohio Sen. JD Vance challenged government payments based on color, pointing to a USDA program that provided benefits to farmers who are Black. The payments did not detail specific races of the recipients.

The Enhancing Program Access and Delivery for Farm Loans rule will go into effect for FSA loans after Sept. 25, 2024. USDA stated the changes are intended to increase opportunities and help farmers and ranchers to be financially viable.

USDA on Monday published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for a second tranche of the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP). Groups must apply by October 4. USDA anticipates that allocations will be announced before the end of the calendar year.

The Congressional Budget Office released a score for the House version of the farm bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. The bill cleared the House Agriculture Committee in May.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced in a news release that USDA is investing up to $400 million with at least 18 irrigation districts to pay farmers to reduce their water usage but also continue crop production on the land as well.

USDA on Wednesday announced the department had provided $2 billion to 43,000 people nationally who faced discrimination over farm-loan programs before 2021.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is suddenly becoming viewed as a Democratic "rural Midwest" counter to Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, who is former President Donald Trump's running mate.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., had plans to bring a cryptocurrency bill to the committee for a vote this week, but she indicated Monday her plans have stalled. The focus on getting a crypto bill done also seems to have taken away efforts of Stabenow to bring her committee...

There is a lot of angst about farm income right now, but policymakers already seem to accept that another one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill is unavoidable. If a farm bill doesn't get done this year, then there is no chance to have a better safety net in 2025. The...

The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee both discussed the election and the farm bill in an interview at the Republican National Convention. One of the Senate's top leaders, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota...

The country quickly weighed in Monday on social media, campaign calls and news releases about former President Donald Trump selecting Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate. The senator has little history in agricultural policy, but he grew up in rural America.

USDA announced $110 million for 57 various small processors across the country through two different programs, the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) and the Local Meat Capacity (Local MCap) Grant Program.

Reflecting the partisan divide that exists right now, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee criticized Republicans for not bringing their farm bill up for debate on the House floor.