Ag Policy Blog

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Monday that USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson will leave USDA at the end of January to become associate director of economics and policy analysis for the American Sugar Alliance, and that Seth Meyer has been hired as the new...

Senators, seeing drones as critical technology tools going forward for farmers, want the Federal Aviation Administration to include representation from agriculture, forestry, rural America and tribes on an advisory committee for drones.

The Trump administration on Wednesday filed an action against Canada under the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement challenging how Canada is handling tariffs and quotas for dairy products.

A change in the funding formula for inland waterway projects could add $100 million annually to waterway infrastructure spending as the House of Representatives approved a new Water Resources Development Act on Tuesday.

The signup deadline for the 2021 Dairy Margin Coverage program is Friday but the National Milk Producers Federation on Monday urged USDA to extend the deadline until Jan. 30, 2021.

Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., acknowledged that there is no way his bill would pass before Congress adjourns, but said he was “firing a shot” about a program he considers important as he leaves after his defeat in November.

The House Democratic Caucus on Thursday approved Rep. David Scott, R-Ga., as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., was elected by Republicans to serve as ranking member on the committee.

The bill had already passed the Senate on November 16 and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. The U.S. Grain Standards Act was first passed in 1916, and its current authorization passed in 2015 is set to expire on December 11. The new bill would provide a...

The policy change was among multiple policy changes that will go into effect for the 2021 spring crops. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) is following up on several changes to crop insurance that had been proposed through a task force that met following the 2019 crop year in...

Iowa's senior senator said he has fought to strengthen the safety net for farmers who face weather disasters or other market challenges that were not of their doing, but can financially devastate a farming operation. The senator said the country relies on these family farm...

The Agriculture Department's Risk Management Agency announced Monday it is expanding the pilot Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) plan for hemp.

While it's called the U.S. Department of Agriculture, much of the USDA budget is focused on nutritional programs. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., argued in an interview with the New York Times that Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, would change the direction of USDA to focus on hunger.

In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden, three unions said Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio has been an advocate for all workers, including meat processing workers and fought attempts to increase the line speeds in meat plants.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union each released information on Thanksgiving food costs this week that showed some divergent perspectives on costs of the meal.

In a news release Thursday, the coalition of groups highlighted that CRP acreage, at 21.9 million acres, is the lowest enrollment since 1987, and the Farm Service Agency hasn't worked to effectively implement the 2018 farm bill, which boosted the CRP acreage cap from 24 million...

Pennsylvania's Agriculture secretary is one of several potential candidates being considered to run USDA in President-elect Joe Biden's cabinet.

On Tuesday, groups representing "environmental, animal welfare, public health and sustainable agriculture" plan to release a letter calling on President-elect Joe Biden to not nominate former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp for the top USDA job. At least some of those groups...

European Union officials held a press web event Friday with U.S. journalists to discuss the Farm to Fork Strategy, which has come under heavy criticism over the past several months from top officials at both USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative's office. U.S. officials have...

As President-elect Joe Biden starts formulating his climate plans, the Washington Post reported Wednesday that the Biden transition team "is poised to embed action on climate change across the breadth of the federal government, from the departments of Agriculture to...

The funding package for agriculture is part of a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund government agencies for fiscal-year 2021, which began in October. Right now, federal departments are operating under a continuing resolution that extended funds to agencies that...