Ag Policy Blog

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.

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.