Ag Policy Blog

After losing a dispute panel under the USMCA trade agreement in January 2022, Canada revised how it allocates its TRQ, but that imposed new conditions still restrict a range of potential buyers from importing U.S. dairy products. The U.S. is now calling for a new dispute...

USDA was authorized to create the pilot cattle contract library in a 2022 funding bill. USDA stated the website will work similar to a library model developed and shared with stakeholders last year. Packers that slaughter an average of at least 5% of fed cattle nationally over...

The Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday will start a series of hearings on farm bill programs, starting with trade. Over the next month, the committee will also hold hearings on the commodity programs and crop insurance, as well as nutrition and conservation programs.

A new bill in Congress, the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, would give the USDA Secretary a permanent seat on the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). The bill also would require more reporting by USDA and the Government Accountability...

In a news release Monday, U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator Doug McKalip issued a joint statement citing that Mexico's government is...

Law firms are soliciting cattle producers for clients in some major cattle price-fixing lawsuits that could be declared as class-action cases later this year. At the moment, producers should just make sure they have their sales records in order going back to 2015 instead of...

Iowa lawmakers introduced a bill earlier this month meant to tighten rules and requirements for people in the state who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The bill would require SNAP recipients to use a list of products under another food-aid...

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that she intends to get the farm bill done this year. Meanwhile, economists at Texas A&M indicate an extension of the current policies might not be a bad deal if a new farm bill doesn't improve commodity...

National Farmers Union criticized the memorandum of undersanding between John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation as a non-binding agreement between only one group and one manufacturer. NFU noted there is a history of preventing farmers from being able to...

As the House of Representatives creates a new select committee to look at China, lawmakers also want to ban companies or people tied to the Chinese Communist Party from buying land in the U.S. as well. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also said this week he would like to see a similar...

Delegates at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting approved some policy recommendations that would increase funding for the farm bill and farmer safety nets. The push for higher spending may run into a roadblock in the House of Representatives where GOP...

While touting some regulatory successes, Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation said he is disappointed EPA moved ahead with a new waters of the U.S. rule. Duvall also called for ag-labor reform even after legislation from the last Congress stalled.

In a statement, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, 72, said she is passing the torch to a new generation but will concentrate on legislation for the next two years, including passing a new farm bill.

The Minnesota and South Dakota Public Utilities Commissions each this week will examine the permits of major carbon pipeline projects. The actions come as Summit Carbon last week released comments from South Dakota ethanol producers who stated that South Dakota's PUC is slow...

Spanning the globe once again to bring our readers a constant variety of news analysis, DTN looks ahead to the top agricultural policy stories for 2023.

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) earlier this month mailed the 2022 Census of Agriculture paper questionnaires to producers around the country. They also have sent out codes for producers to fill out the information online as well. The deadline to respond...

Iowa native Alexis Taylor was confirmed by a voice vote on Wednesday afternoon, drawing praise from industry groups. Taylor was nominated for the post in mid-May, and the Senate Agriculture Committee forwarded her nomination to the full Senate at the end of September. The...

Iowa native Alexis Taylor was confirmed by a voice vote on Wednesday afternoon, drawing praise from industry groups. Taylor was nominated for the post in mid-May, and the Senate Agriculture Committee forwarded her nomination to the full Senate at the end of September.

The bill, S. 1617, allows the SBA to declare an emergency in a rural counties or communities where "significant damage" has occurred. Also, the U.S. and Canada continue to battle over dairy exports and tariffs.

The Biden administration is prepared to take Mexico to a dispute settlement case over biotech corn exports to Mexico if the country follows a presidential decree in 2024. Friday's visit by the Mexican foreign minister could diffuse the situation or ratchet up concerns.