Ag Policy Blog

Just 24 hours after Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tried to shut the door on Market Facilitation Program payments for 2020, President Donald Trump kicked the door back open on Twitter.

House Agriculture Committee ranking member Michael Conaway, R-Texas, who is retiring, said Monday at a crop insurance industry meeting in Florida that his greatest fear about crop insurance is a fraud case.

The number of Americans without Internet service is 42 million, which is double the Federal Communications Commission's estimate of 21.3 million, according to a report issued by BroadbandNow Research.

While President Donald Trump's budget released Monday proposed cuts to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in 2021 and beyond, Army Corps the same day delivered to Congress its fiscal year 2020 Work Plan for the Army Civil Works program with a list of specific projects that...

While the biggest loser coming out of the Iowa caucuses is the actual Iowa caucuses themselves, the county-by-county results show the belated winner is Pete Buttigieg, though Bernie Sanders has a strong claim to make as well.

We're still in early February, but farmers have some key dates they need to keep in mind for program enrollments.

USDA was expected on Thursday to provide some updated details on programs available for hemp producers but the department has now delayed that announcement until next Tuesday. USDA's delay comes as more groups and states have weighed in calling on the department to modify...

The White House late Wednesday issued a statement regarding the formation of the President's Coronavirus Task Force. The White House stated the group has been meeting since Monday and the president chaired the meeting on Wednesday.

Local residents, including the writer, attended a community meeting Monday night to hear about a proposed poultry operation. Residents expressed their fears about how the concentrated animal feeding operation could change the town and farms around them. DTN Ag Policy editor...

Farm Bureau delegates on Tuesday held a marathon session on their policy book. Beyond the changes highlighted in Top Stories, here were some other policy changes Farm Bureau added to its policy book.

Saying he heard from Farm Bureau leaders on several key topics in 2019, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue noted in his speech to Farm Bureau members that farmers raised concerns throughout the year about the crop reporting at the National Agricultural Statistics Service...

Under the trade deal, agricultural exports to China are expected to reach at least $40 billion over each of the next two years. That compares to 2017 numbers, when exports to China reached $23.8 billion, making it the largest U.S. export market. Soybean exports that year...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that the Senate will vote on the bill to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade this week, and several senators said the vote will be Thursday, Bloomberg reported.

The Trump administration has built a track record of reducing or eliminating regulations, yet farmers and state officials are saying the new USDA rules for hemp are too onerous and would harm hemp production already happening in their states.

Following a Senate parliamentarian's ruling that several committees in addition to the Senate Finance Committee have jurisdiction over implementing legislation for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade (HR5430), three committees have scheduled markups next week, Washington...

Popularity polls still show President Donald Trump with lower approval ratings than most presidents in recent history. Still, the president also has some strong numbers with employment, the stock market and a few other economic indicators on his side as the 2020 race begins in...

The Senate Finance Committee will meet Tuesday morning in an open executive session to consider the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the implementation act passed last month by the House of Representatives.

With a wage hike of 6% in 2020 for agricultural guest workers, the Agriculture Workforce Coalition is calling on the U.S. Senate to take up legislation that would change the H-2A program and help farmers with their labor needs.

People across parts of eastern Colorao and western Nebraska are reporting and filming unexplained sightings of drones flying around the area. Local authorities do not know who is responsible and now the FAA is investigating the situation as well.

USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service on Friday issued revised guidance on meat and poultry labels that make claims about how the animals were raised, claims such as grass-fed beef or pasture-raised poultry. The original guidance from 2002 was updated and posted in October...