Ag Policy Blog

USDA this week announced the department would spend a record $7.7 billion in fiscal 2025 "to help agricultural and forestry producers adopt conservation practices on working lands."

Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday night debated a range of issues. Vance argued the country and political situation globally was more stable under former President Donald Trump. Walz countered that Vice President Kamala Harris has a more positive vision...

Kenneth Hartman Jr., new president of the National Corn Growers Association, is urging passage of a new farm bill this year as farmers face lower prices and rising costs.

Citing the need to support farmers who are dealing with declining crop receipts, 140 House members on Thursday wrote leaders to ensure a farm bill passes this year.

USDA is making changes to Farm Service Agency farm loan programs that should help producers secure larger loans or defer payments when hit by disasters. In other news, farm groups warn the president against the risks of a port strike. Independent grocers also support...

Speaking at an event Monday in Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump said he would impose a 200% tariff on imported manufacturing products from Mexico. The president warned John Deere against moving manufacturing facilities to Mexico.

The U.S. biofuels industry and farmers are facing challenges due to outdated climate models and policy frameworks that unfairly penalize domestic corn and soybean farmers.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., pushed back on comments that she wants to add immediate aid to farmers as part of a farm bill extension. Still, some key Republican senators are calling for an aid package for farmers.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., on Monday said key lawmakers in Congress are looking at passing an extension of the farm bill that would boost support for commodity producers. That move could provide aid to farmers while lawmakers work out other details on a five-year bill.

USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small told DTN that when she will hold a bilateral meeting with Brazilian officials. Torres Small said the Brazilian 18% tariff on ethanol is unfair because the United States has only a 2% tariff.

The bill adds the Agriculture secretary to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for transactions, including land, biotechnology, transportation, storage, and processing. It also requires the secretary to report any transaction that can be considered...

Agriculture and rural America were not mentioned but the debate did spotlight a few key issues for ag such as taxes, tariffs, illegal immigration and energy policies.

Agricultural policy leaders from both political sides on Monday discussed the need for a new farm bill but disagreed on key issues like trade, taxes, labor and climate policy at a forum hosted by the Farm Foundation.

Congress right now is looking at potentially extending the current farm bill. Lawmakers are returning this week with a short window to pass legislation that will keep the federal government operating after Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. A letter from 300 farm groups and...

Journalist Brian Reisinger has published a book which weaves a discussion about a century of economic forces, government policy and changes in America through the lens of his family's four generations on a Wisconsin dairy farm.

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.