Chris Clayton

The House passed the CARES Act by unanimous consent Friday, and President Donald Trump signed the bill into law Friday afternoon. The legislation has nearly $2.2 trillion in aid, including $14 billion that would boost USDA's Commodity...

Under some new waivers granted by the State Department, new visa applicants for H-2A and H-2B workers can get their visas approved without requiring in-person interviews. When embassies and consulate offices announced earlier...

USDA announced Thursday more than 3.4 million acres will go into the Conservation Reserve Program, which is allowed to go up to 24.5 million acres this year.

As part of the deal struck between congressional leaders and the Trump administration, more funding would go to USDA's Commodity Credit Corp., and provide a specific aid set aside for livestock producers, dairy farmers and...

As part of a deal struck between congressional leaders and the Trump administration, more funding would go to USDA's Commodity Credit Corp. and provide a specific aid set-aside for livestock producers, dairy farmers and farmers...

As part of a deal struck between congressional leaders and the Trump administration, more funding would go to USDA's Commodity Credit Corp. and provide a specific aid set-aside for livestock producers, dairy farmers and farmers...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo specifically noted on Friday H-2A workers would be one of the groups exempt from the border closing with Mexico. The president of the American Farm Bureau also said he is hearing from farmers...

Groups such as the American Farm Bureau and others find themselves reacting to rapidly changing situations as the federal government responds to the COVID-19 outbreak. Labor has come to the forefront as the U.S. shuts down...

A statement to the cattle industry late Monday by USDA officials highlighted the importance of ensuring that meat inspections continue and that the meatpacking industry remains operating to help ease consumer fears in the midst...

Commodity markets were slammed again Thursday as futures prices followed the stock markets lower in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, several major national groups have canceled or delayed meetings to lower the...

Iowa's secretary of agriculture brought in federal officials and others on Friday to see some of the levee repairs along the Missouri River in southwest Iowa. The tour was done, in large part, to demonstrate to leaders from USDA's...

Biofuel producers, as well as leaders from corn and soybean groups, are asking President Donald Trump to stand with farmers and accept the decision of a federal appeals court last month that EPA had violated the Renewable Fuel...

In a hearing on Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin committed to finally making a fix in a tax deduction for farmer cooperatives. Two years after Congress passed a legislative...

The Port of Savannah over the past couple of years has seen an explosion of produce imports from Central and South American countries. The growth in imports helps with poultry exports out of Savannah, the largest shipping...

Rob Larew was elected to a two-year term as president of the National Farmers Union on Monday. He replaced Roger Johnson who officially retired as president of NFU at the annual meeting after leading the organization since 2009.

Farmers discussed their views of the U.S.-China trade agreement during a House hearing on Wednesday. A Minnesota farmer was skeptical about the prospective China sale numbers, while an Illinois farmer was more optimistic and saw...

Farmers discussed their views of the U.S.-China trade agreement during a House hearing on Wednesday. A Minnesota farmer was skeptical about the prospective China sale numbers, while an Illinois farmer was more optimistic and saw...

As UN FAO Ambassador, Indiana Farmer Kip Tom Talks About US Role in Ag Development Speaking to DTN at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum on Friday, Kip Tom, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture in...

USDA's forecast for the red meat and poultry sectors shows higher production for beef, pork and chicken broilers. All three sectors also are projected to see record export opportunities in 2020 as well.

USDA is projecting a record 15.5 billion bushel corn crop for the 2020-21 season and a 4.195 billion bushel soybean crop. Both crops are projected to see higher exports, but the production increase for corn will also lead to higher...

USDA's initial outlook for the 2020 crop year shows higher export sales, but does not reflect the $40 billion commitment by China to buy agricultural exports as part of the phase-one trade deal signed last month. The forecast...

Farmers for a Sustainable Future, made up of 21 major farm and livestock groups, itself does not have any specific goals set out for the agriculture sector to reduce emissions. However, the group wants to focus on policy...

While Louisiana leaders praise the Corps of Engineers' decision to fund dredging the lower Mississippi River to a 50-foot draft depth, advocates several hundred miles farther north in states such as Iowa also praise the decision...

A tax quirk two years ago looked like a windfall for farmers who did business with cooperatives. Now, new rules might actually increase the taxes for at least some farmers who are patrons of more diversified cooperatives.

Over the past decade, the United Soybean Board has invested more than $60 million in boosting high oleic soybean production, but companies still contract well under 1 million acres. USB's long-term projections call for high oleic...

USDA officials on Thursday held a call offering some details about insurance options for hemp farmers, but they also explained they will stand pat on testing requirements for hemp going into the 2020 crop season, and it would take...

The U.S. and Kenya do just $1 billion in total trade right now, but President Trump is hosting Kenya's president at the White House. Business groups would like to see a trade deal with Kenya as a way to create a template for...

The president's State of the Union speech began by focusing on the economy under his presidency, as well as trade victories such as USMCA and the phase-one China deal. Trump also took aim at Democrats in his speech as he...

After a day of waiting for results, the Iowa Democratic Party late Tuesday released a partial set of numbers showing South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg with an edge over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders followed by...

The Democratic Party was unable to provide the outcome and delegate split late Monday night and early into Tuesday morning. President Trump easily won the GOP side and he also made sure to point out the Democrats' failure. The...

After a year that at one time had more than 20 Democrats running for president, the number of candidates has narrowed for Monday night's Iowa caucuses. President Donald Trump has sought to steal the thunder from Democrats...

During a White House ceremony to sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Wednesday, President Donald Trump spotlighted some of the trade benefits for agriculture, especially increased market access to Canada. For the...

Local residents, including the writer, attended a community meeting Monday night to hear about a proposed poultry operation. Residents expressed their fears about how the concentrated animal feeding operation could change the...

The growing outbreak of coronavirus in China comes just barely two weeks after agricultural commodities were experiencing short-term optimism over trade with China after President Donald Trump reached an agreement with Chinese...

The pendulum again swung in the way waters will be regulated under the Clean Water Act, as the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the "Navigable Waters Protection Rule" as a new definition...

More Farm Bureau Policy Highlights From the Notebook

More than 300 farmers from across the country made changes to their policy book on an array of issues ranging from trade aid and dairy policy to farm labor, as well as defining their recommendations for changes to USDA's...

Speaking Monday at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said new trade deals with China and others will require the Trump administration to look at helping farmers with labor...

The phase-one trade agreement between the U.S. and China signed Wednesday calls for China to buy at least $40 billion in agricultural products each of the next two years, according to the administration. President Donald Trump...

The speech to AFBF's annual meeting marked the third consecutive year Trump has spoken at the convention. On Sunday, Trump reminded the farmer audience he had protected them from economic harm with trade-aid payments while at...

One reason for optimism is recent progress on trade agreements, following a couple of years of tariffs and trade disputes. Further helping boost income, USDA will likely provide a third tranche of Market Facilitation Program (MFP...

Senate passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement marked the second day in a row that President Donald Trump has been able to notch a significant trade victory for his administration. Given that Mexico has already...

Ken Isley, administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, was a keynote speaker Tuesday at the Land Expo 2020 in downtown Des Moines. While speaking little about the trade deal with China, Isley looked ahead at some of the...

The president of the United States will speak at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting for the third year in a row. The speech, set for Sunday, will likely serve as a victory lap for the president after he signs a...

A bill introduced by Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., mirrors a Senate bill that would prevent checkoff programs from contracting with groups that engage in policy or may have conflicts of interest "or anticompetitive activities that harm...

The Senate Finance Committee, in its first business of the year, passed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement out of committee on a 25-3 vote. The trade agreement could come to the floor potentially later this week or early next...

People across eastern Colorado and western Nebraska are reporting and filming unexplained sightings of drones flying around the area, according to several media reports.

Commodity groups largely see benefits in the USMCA before Congress adjourns for the year. The trade deal will move to the Senate early next year. While ratification seems assured, some groups representing cattlemen are angry...

Digital technology is slowly transforming different areas of agriculture, including how ag businesses operate, speakers at the 2019 Fertilizer Outlook and Technology Conference said this week.

NFU's Roger Johnson announced last month he would not seek re-election at the group's upcoming annual meeting in March. Johnson said he thinks U.S. agriculture could see eventual negative repercussions over the way the Trump...