Ag Policy Blog

President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on competition in the next few days. The White House press secretary on Tuesday told reporters during her daily press briefing some of the expected moves to come out of the executive order directly related to USDA...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, speaking to DTN on Wednesday, said the litigation involving white farmers who sued USDA over the program will now have to move through the U.S. District court, then almost certainly will go to federal appeals courts, and perhaps all of the way...

The Washington Post on Tuesday reported former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue closed a real-estate deal in South Carolina with Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), paying a fraction of the price for an older grain elevator than what ADM had paid for the property.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke Thursday afternoon at the WSJ Global Food Forum and was asked to explain what USDA can do to help farmers during the drought. The secretary said the magnitude of drought right now goes beyond most of the aid programs in USDA's...

President Joe Biden appeared to reach a deal Thursday with a group of moderate senators to boost infrastructure spending in the country by about $72 billion annually with increased investments in roads, bridges, water infrastructure, broadband expansion while moving the...

The Supreme Court ruling overturns a regulation in California law that granted the United Farm Workers union access to a farm property for three hours a day for up to 120 days a year.

The Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman and ranking member released the witness list for Wednesday's hearing titled, “Examining Markets, Transparency, and Prices from Cattle Producer to Consumer.” Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa offered some perspective on...

The Senate Agriculture Committee has a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday morning looking at renewable energy opportunities in rural America. A separate hearing by the full committee on Wednesday will examine some of the challenges facing livestock producers right now.

West Coast port problems are limiting the potential for exports of pork and other products, according to testimony Tuesday at a House Transportation Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee hearing.

Trying to curb a decline in acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA is boosting rental rates and various land-improvement incentives. The deadline approaches to apply for the CRP general sign-up.

Farmers and livestock producers who have been waiting for aid payments for Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) and the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP-Plus) should see payments over the next several week as USDA announced more than $1 billion in aid released...

With the American Jobs Plan calling for $17 billion for ports and inland waterways, Farmers for Free Trade and agricultural groups called on lawmakers to boost that funding closer to the $42 billion identified by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

ERS looked at a hypothetical situation where all global tariffs were removed from agricultural trade. The report also provides a good summary about tariffs in certain countries such as South Korea and India.

The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee has added his voice to those raising concerns about limiting stepped-up basis for farm assets. Several farm groups have complained about the proposal, which President Joe Biden has pitched to help pay for his infrastructure...

Federal lawmakers are asking for the U.S. Department of Justice and the USDA to appeal a recent court decision that vacated a rule allowing for faster line speeds at pork-processing plants.

In a nomination hearing Thursday, multiple senators said the Senate Agriculture Committee will be holding a separate hearing at some point on the cattle markets. Senators want to understand where the Department of Justice stands on its investigation into packers, and what USDA...

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has led a letter to congressional leaders seeking a major funding boost for an array of USDA programs over the next decade. USDA also has launched an initiative to quantify the climate benefits of CRP contracts.

A coalition, the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, with 115 of its member groups signed onto a letter this week to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways & Means Committee. The coalition is continuing to raise concerns over...

A pair of senators are writing a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland to enforce antitrust laws and restore fairness to cattle markets. R-CALF USA is encouraging other lawmakers to join the letter, looking to get 200 members of the House and Senate on board.

The bankers wrote Vilsack last month that USDA should recognize lenders' costs of funding and servicing loans and ensure lenders are made whole by being compensated for lost income due to these loan payoffs. The New York Times first reported about the banker's actions.