Ag Policy Blog

The lead Senate sponsor of President Joe Biden's immigration bill told a business group Thursday that getting a bill through the Senate is a "Herculean task" that will businesses and lobbying groups put pressure on lawmakers to back it.

Nearly 130 agricultural and food groups wrote the chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday asking for immediate confirmation of Tom Vilsack as secretary of Agriculture. The Biden administration also named several staffers to USDA on...

Outgoing Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Tuesday announced he had signed a memorandum of understanding with an assistant secretary for Health and Human Services that "clears a path" for USDA to take over as the primary regulatory jurisdiction for gene-edited...

The American Farm Bureau Federation was among the groups highlighting some of the specific provisions for agriculture in the $900 billion aid package, as well as the $1.4 trillion overall government funding bill and tax-extenders package.

Federal agencies on Friday began cranking out end-of-time rules and tweaks to government programs as the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday limits the days left for the Trump administration to get any new rule out the door before Wednesday's change to the Biden...

Delegates to the American Farm Bureau Federation's online convention on Thursday adopted a policy calling for efforts to increase negotiated sales in fed cattle markets and increased transparency in livestock pricing.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce this week detailed proposals for the incoming Biden administration to boost both trade demand and U.S. infrastructure.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn has told the Health and Human Services Department that he would refuse to sign a proposal transferring regulatory power over gene-edited animals to the Agriculture Department, Politico reported late Tuesday.

At a time when our country is suffering from a lapse of reason, Vilsack brings an understanding that USDA can provide stability as families need food aid and rural America needs a strong economy. President-elect Joe Biden is looking to demonstrate practical results as the...

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, highlighted some successes during the Trump administration on regulatory issues and trade, but said he is looking forward to working with the Biden administration going forward.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters in Georgia on Thursday that he had not talked with any other Cabinet members about invoking the 25th Amendment, despite calls from Congress and others to remove President Donald Trump from office.

Most Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee, including the incoming committee ranking member, were among the 138 House Republicans who voted for the Pennsylvania objection. Both objections to Arizona and Pennsylvania election results failed.

New poll shows a majority of farmers and farm workers say the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their mental health.

Landowners looking to enroll acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program have until Feb. 12 to sign up for the program.

USDA's Risk Management Agency has extended COVID-19 relief for electronic notifications and signatures on crop insurance.

The American Farm Bureau Federation was among the groups highlighting some of the specific provisions for agriculture in the $900 billion aid package, as well as the $1.4 trillion overall government funding bill and tax-extenders package.

The bill includes funds that will provide supplemental $20 per-acre payments to all row-crop producers, another $3 billion will provide payments to cattle producers, contract growers of livestock and poultry, dairy farmers and livestock producers who were forced to euthanize...

Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., urged action on the combined omnibus appropriations bill and COVID-19 relief package late Friday as President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution in effect through Sunday night that Congress had passed...

Congressional leaders had not reached agreement late Thursday on a combined omnibus appropriations bill and COVID-19 relief package, and Axios and Politico both reported that the government may shut down over the weekend while the bill is finished.

As Congress appeared close to a deal on an omnibus appropriations bill and COVID-19 relief late Wednesday, there were signs that the massive legislation might also extend tax breaks, and Growth Energy asked that biofuels measures be included.