Ag Policy Blog

The funding for climate-smart agricultural investments in USDA's conservation programs won't require USDA to go through a rule-making process because the programs are already in place, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. The $19.5 billion will help deal with the backlog of...

NRCS will target funding, increase its program flexibilities and launch a new outreach campaign to promote nutrient management's economic benefits, along with expanding partnerships to develop nutrient management plans. This is part of USDA's broader effort to address future...

The National Farmers Union and National Council for Farmer Cooperatives were among the groups touting the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act for the investments in agriculture, biofuels and rural renewable energy projects.

The massive legislation contains $40 billion for agricultural conservation, credit, renewable energy and forestry programs. The bill also includes debt relief provisions for some farmers, though Black farmer groups say the bill reverses promises given to them in the American Rescue...

I'm clarifying a mistake in my reporting on the Inflation Reduction Act when it comes to debt relief for certain farmers. When I detailed some of the debt-relief provisions in the bill, I didn't realize I was looking at text that had not been updated.

Members of Congress have introduced a bill to extend the USDA Emergeny Relief Program (ERP) to cover 2022 disasters. The program right now was authorized to cover losses in 2020 and 2022.

The $739 billion bill focuses on spurring renewable energy and reducing emissions, but also allows Medicare to negotiate drug rates and it increases eligibility for the Affordable Care Act. The bill has provisions tied to climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy that would...

The $739 billion bill focuses on spurring renewable energy and reducing emissions, but also allows Medicare to negotiate drug rates and it increases eligibility for the Affordable Care Act. The bill has provisions tied to climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy that would...

After taking measurements last week, the dead zone was measured at about 3,275 square miles, one of the smaller areas mapped since they began tracking the size of the hypoxia area. Still, that translates into more than 2 million acres of the Gulf that is potentially...