Ag Policy Blog

The export forecast for FY 2023, which runs from October 2022 to the end of September 2023, was lowered by $3.5 billion from the August trade forecast. Agricultural imports are forecast at a record $199 billion, a $2 billion in increase from the August forecast.

Following growing concerns about a potential ban on U.S. biotech corn exports to Mexico, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Mexican president reiterated the value of yellow corn imports for his country.

Now that you've taken care of those Thanksgiving leftovers and your college football team has either won or lost its rivalry game, it's time to turn some attention to 2023. Let's start with the 2022 DTN Virtual Ag Summit on Dec. 12-13.

Comments were originally expected to be due Dec. 2, but USDA added 45 days for comment through Jan. 17, 2023. The proposed rule, dubbed "Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity," would prohibit certain "prejudices against market-vulnerable individuals" that tend to be...

The leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee will ensure they are the first out of the gate with a full hearing on the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. They seek to establish that their legislation giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulatory...

More groups are laying out their ideas for changing the next farm bill. Meanwhile, USDA posted a notice in the Federal Register looking for comments on how to spend $19.5 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act on conservation programs to lower emissions and promote soil-health...

Following a hearing on Rural Development and Energy titles of the farm bill, Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, dismissed a House GOP plan proposed over the summer that would make steep cuts to several farm bill programs.

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both Republicans, called for USTR Katherine Tai to formally request dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement. Mexico's government plans to cut off imports of biotech corn in 2024.

The Senate Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The committee has spent the past two years working on the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act to regulate cryptocurrencies. The FTX bankruptcy has heightened those...

Former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, a Blue Dog Democrat, sees a problem for agricultural policy when all of the agricultural districts are dominated by one party, even though rural Americans are casting their votes in that direction.

At least three Democratic incumbents on the House Agriculture Committee had elections called against them on Wednesday in Arizona, Iowa and New York. The GOP was inching closer to a majority, but not there yet as of Wednesday afternoon. The Senate may have to wait for the...

There was no midterm red wave Tuesday but early Wednesday the Republican party still had eyes on control of Congress. Republicans lead Democrats in races called for the House, but the Democratic win in the Pennsylvania Senate leaves control of Senate up in the air.

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday voting on a wide range of issues from state to state, as well as candidate policy. Marijuana legalization is a theme with five states voting on a ballot measure. In southern Arizona, a county will vote on imposing groundwater regulations. The...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that access to fertilizer for 2023 crops remains a concern. The low river levels on the Mississippi River are hindering the flow of fertilizer upstream. He expects USDa will make some announcements soon that will help domestic...

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., led a letter of ten GOP House members to Vilsack on the $2.8 billion that went to the climate-smart pilot projects along with the expectation that the funds will go up to $3.5 billion with later announcements.

At least two Cargill grain elevators on the Mississippi River have stopped taking corn and soybeans because the bins are full, and they can't send grain down the river fast enough. Meanwhile, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials on the Missouri River are reducing water releases...

The U.S. Trade Representative's Office on SUnday rejected a formal investigation request into Mexican fruit and vegetable exports to the U.S. that had come from Florida lawmakers who claimed Mexico is targeting Florida produce.

Well, they aren't paying out right now, but farmers can now enroll and change their acreage election for the 2023 Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC).

In a keynote speech at the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue, the head of U.S. global food and development aid highlighted the rising costs of humanitarian food aid. U.S. food aid costs have gone up 50% in just the past two years. Other countries need to step up their...

Changes were made to the Dairy Margin Coverage program last year by USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) to offer a new Supplemental DMC program. The feed cost formula was also adjusted to address retroactive, current and future feed costs, USDA stated. Those changes will...