Ag Policy Blog

USDA released details on the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) program. USDA has also increased the funding for the program due to higher input costs. The payments to specialty crop growers are being made to deal with marketing losses in the 2025 growing...

In a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture committee, along with the Senate majority and minority leaders, NFU highlighted that its members and rural communities continue to face significant economic headwinds. NFU is pitching its own plan that would...

While the White House touts that China has agreed to buy $17 billion in agricultural commodities under an agreement reached last week, a new report shows U.S. agricultural exports to China fell by $14.9 billion during much of the past year.

USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce said landowners should start to receive notifications within the next month about whether they have farmland eligible for enrollment in base acres. Fordyce also acknowledged at least some local county...

Both Republican and Democratic aides said the base farm bill will not contain a provision to preempt states from labeling chemicals like glyphosate, nor will it include a provision negating California's Proposition 12, a law requiring pork sold in the state to come from animals raised...

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was among a group of Republicans who joined with Democrats to remove provisions from the House version of the farm bill that would protect pesticide companies from legal liability and declare EPA has exclusive authority over pesticide labels.

The chairman and ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee sent a letter to President Donald Trump calling on him to nominate a full slate of members to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The agency has been focusing more attention on regulating crypto...

The vote Tuesday on E15 showed splits among the political parties and delegations from states across the country. Lawmakers from top ethanol-producing states stuck together to back the bill. The House Agriculture Committee also showed some split.

Soybean and corn both have their market-moving moments this week with the summit in China and Congress looking to vote on E15 legislation. Cargill's CEO will join President Donald Trump on his trip to China while the House is set to potentially vote on the E15 bill.

The director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is warning that fertilizer disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz will strain the global food system and tighten food supplies in the second half of 2026 and into next year.

While Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and others denounce Brazilian meatpackers and American reliance on foreign beef, Brazilian beef imports to the U.S. continue to soar. The Trump administration has launched at least two trade investigations into Brazil, but neither has led...

The House version of the farm bill that passed on Thursday includes changes in credit, forestry, crop insurance and an array of other programs. The bill now goes to the Senate, where more changes are expected.

The funding bill for USDA makes a small percentage of budget cuts but would cancel grants and cut loans under the Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP), a popular program that provides funding to farmers and rural businesses to improve energy efficiency and reduce...

The House Rules Committee on Monday began debating the rules for floor debate on the farm bill and more than 300 amendments that were submitted for consideration to the bill. The biggest issue early in the debate is how the House will address a provision that would clarify EPA...

The chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee agreed with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that USDA's Commodity Credit Corp. borrowing limit should be increased from the current $30 billion annually.

Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, died on Wednesday at age 80. Scott was a strong advocate for farmers, people needing food assistance and historically Black colleges.

The Farm Credit Council released a letter Friday from 330 farm groups calling on Congress to take up the farm bill on the House floor. Separately, another group of 524 farmers wrote the chairs of the House and Senate agriculture committees expressing concerns about USDA...

Richard Fordyce, USDA's undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, spoke to DTN about the status of the base-acre update on Wednesday. He said FSA offices continue to dig into acreage history, but that should be done over the next month.

Four lawmakers on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees met with reporters on Tuesday about agricultural challenges. Each pointed to strong bipartisan support for aiding farmers, but the four members also reflected that there is little consensus on how to advance key...

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has opened an acreage reporting period for specialty crop producers for their share of $1 billion set aside for aid tied to 2025 crops. USDA also had a flurry of announcements Tuesday, such as launching a new ag-tech testing program and...