Ag Policy Blog

Crop insurance has helped keep more than 80% of producers on the farm, but also has been a factor in eliminating some farms and increasing the size of other farm operations as well. Crop insurance also has resulted in lower market prices for commodities as well.

Growth Energy, the National Biodiesel Board, the National Corn Growers, the National Farmers Union, and the Renewable Fuels Association on Monday announced their support for provisions and agricultural portions of the Build Back Better Act.

House Democrats have put their faith in the Senate, this time with an even more narrow majority, to pass their social agenda or risk campaign attacks for programs that never make it into law. They did that in 2009 and lost.

As Americans focus more on inflationary issues, the American Farm Bureau pegs Thanksgiving costs increasing 14% from a year ago while USDA estimates the increase at 5%.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill later this week on the Build Back Better Act. Its mix of social programs, climate initiatives and tax policy changes are projected to cost roughly $2 trillion over the next decade. The American Farm Bureau Federation...

China and the U.S. combine roughly 40% of global emissions. The two countries agreed to work throughout the next decade on emission reductions and environmental standards, and move towards the emission-reduction goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

With Veterans Day approaching, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations held a hearing on the military and hunger. There were no particular legislation as the focus of the hearing, but the testimony was meant to highlight some of the...

House Ag leadership from both parties have mentioned the need to vet what is in the bill related to agriculture, and what isn't in the bill. There is a lot of misinformation out there, and some of it is coming from committee members.

The final vote on the infrastructure bill came after a day of negotiations among Democrats in Congress and the president. The agreement to shore up Democratic votes for the infrastructure bill also allowed the president's $1.75 trillion social spending package to advance in the...

While the Biden administration continues to issue vaccine mandates for the public and private sectors, USDA and other federal departments so far are not releasing information about how much of their workforce has provided proof of vaccination.

Farm Service Agency is encouraging producers to reach out to their local USDA Service Centers to make changes to their elections and enroll for ARC or PLC for 2022 crops. Changes of enrollment are optional, but producers must sign a new contract each year. The enrollment...

While at the G-20 meeting in Rome, the president reached an agreement with the European Union on steel and aluminum trade tied reducing emissions from steel and aluminum production. The deal will incentivize emission reductions from sectors of the economy that are considered...

For agriculture, the Build Back Better Act includes big investments in forestry, conservation and research programs. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition pointed to the increases in USDA's alphabet soup of conservation programs.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told DTN Political Correspondent Jerry Hagstrom earlier Wednesday that all the agriculture and food programs in the House proposal for the Build Back Better Act had taken a haircut but remained in good shape...

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday during an event, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he still expects to see a significant increase for conservation funding despite plans to cut the reconciliation bill from $3.5 trillion to around $1.9 trillion.

Vilsack and USDA announced the $700 million in aid back on June 15 to help offset some of the market impacts from COVID-19 lockdowns back in spring 2020 that led to dramatic drops in fuel markets. Four months later, USDA has not provided details about the program for biofuel...

The White House keeps stressing the importance of shifting to a low-carbon economy, but the Biden administration's actions on the Renewable Fuels Standard seem to suggest otherwise.

USDA issued a press release on a new on-line tool to help livestock producers calculate potential aid to help with the transportation costs for hauling feed during a drought. USDA also is looking at ways to measure carbon in the soil for CRP ground.

Agricultural leaders from across the spectrum praised EPA's appointment Thursday of Rod Snyder as a new liaison between EPA and the agriculture industry. Snyder has extensive experience with groups across the agricultural supply chain working on sustainability and climate...

Farmers who grow local fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops should contact their local crop insurance agent to learn more about the new Micro Farm insurance policy.