Ag Policy Blog

During the 90-minute debate on WCCO radio and Facebook Live, Minnesota Seventh District Rep. Collin Peterson repeatedly referred to his power as House Agriculture Committee chairman, while former GOP Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach repeatedly mentioned her support of Trump, and...

The coronavirus aid bill that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced Tuesday will include $20 billion in additional aid for farmers and others in agriculture.

The American Farm Bureau Federation on Wednesday released a questionnaire with responses from the campaigns for President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. With fewer than two months to Election Day, the answers reflect the contrasting styles and policies of...

The Senate is scheduled to return to Washington today and House committees are also scheduled to hold hearings this week while waiting for the full House to return next Monday, September 14.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a USDA disaster declaration on Thursday for farmers in Iowa that will open up some further programs to producers. The secretary also said he is troubled by disparities in how crop-insurance companies are treating claims after last...

Twenty one senators from 14 wheat-producing states on Wednesday wrote Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue asking for more aid for farmers growing all classes of wheat, citing that COVID-19 and other factors are depressing wheat prices.

Gregg Doud, speaking on Friday during a virtual agriculture summit run by the office of Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., referred to the Biden campaign in saying he Biden may not want to keep it.

In accepting the Republican nomination to run for a second term, President Donald Trump on Thursday night made historical references to American farmers and ranchers but did not mention current concerns except some brief references to trade.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., spoke at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night, praising President Donald Trump and avoiding the current controversies in their states.

We're just going to have to throw the penalty flag on EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. The only real question is whether it's for delay of game or intentional grounding.

The Trump administration said this week it will continue to let foreign farm workers extend their H-2A temporary work visas to immediately begin work with new employers in an effort to protect U.S. food suppliers during the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement comes as...

USDA's Risk Management Agency on Wednesday announces changes to prevented planting coverage starting with the 2021 spring crops. Among those changes is expanding the "one in four" requirement for prevented planting.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig wrote USDA officials on Tuesday calling for the need to change crop insurance for a no harvest option in areas that suffer serious storm damage.

As President Donald Trump visits Mankato, Minn., the Renewable Fuels Association pointed out Mankato is at the heart of the ethanol industry with 50 ethanol plants within a 150-mile radius of the city. RFA states that the president's EPA is hurting the ethanol industry right...

Sen. Kamala Harris drew some fire on Thursday from Vice President Mike Pence for comments she made last year recommending that Americans cut red meat consumption because of environmental concerns.

A letter to USDA from the House Agriculture Committee calls on the department to deal with several questions going on within the cattle industry. The congressmen want USDA to tap the Office of the Chief Economist to look at price discovery and methods to address deficiencies...

Under new guidelines, decisions on emergency haying and grazing Conservation Reserve Program acres will fall under how a local area is depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor during the end of primary nesting season.

Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D., repeated Wednesday he is open to increasing nutrition programs in the coronavirus aid package, but he doesn't want the money to come out of the money set aside for aid to farmers and ranchers. Sen...

Sen. Chuck Grassley continued to push his fellow GOP chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee to hold a hearing on cattle legislation introduced by Grassley and Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. Other senators have introduced a bill to respond to some of the strains that...

Getting the word ethanol into the next aid package also might become a tipping scale in the Iowa U.S. Senate race. Ethanol also is tied to international politics and the presidential race as well. The State Department is disputing a report that the U.S. ambassador to Brazil...