Chris Clayton

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee visited Nebraska on Friday, holding a forum with about 50 agricultural leaders from across the state and Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican...

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) released an analysis concluding the proposed $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would leave farmers exposed to pricing and service decisions they cannot...

In an interview with DTN, CropLife America President and CEO Alex Dunn said the industry's top concern is the increasing amount of time it takes for EPA to approve new pesticide products and...

Farmers highlighted E15, local food purchasing and tax credits for cotton at a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee hearing focusing on how to boost domestic markets. Senators said they recognize the financial straits facing farmers...

A group of U.S. Senate Democrats introduced a bill on March 5 that would force most of the largest packers to sell or spin off lines of business or sell their entire operations if they are foreign-owned. The bill also would limit...

Farmers are seeing major price spikes when they call fertilizer suppliers. The American Farm Bureau Federation is calling on President Trump to protect fertilizer shipments. The war in Iran and the broader Middle East is hitting...

Economists at the University of Illinois say the scenarios they have run show strong benefits in a lot of cases for farmers to lower their individual Revenue Protection coverage but add on ECO and SCO policies. That works in a lot...

The Iowa Corn Growers Association spotlighted a report from Bloomberg that the Justice Department is examining whether major fertilizer companies are colluding to raise their prices. The probe comes as the war in Iran has added...

The House Agriculture Committee early Thursday morning voted 34-17 to advance its farm bill package after debates over a broad range of issues on Tuesday and all day Wednesday. Seven Democrats joined Republicans in advancing...

The Commodity Classic event is filled with marketing seminars. Last week's event had several sessions, but there were similar themes throughout. Advisers offered some recommendations for sales, puts and calls, and not holding on to...

Analysts began quickly dissecting the impacts with shipping companies suspending operations through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait between Iran and the United Arab Emirates and Oman is a major shipping route for oil, natural gas...

Frustration levels were high at last week's Commodity Classic, as farmers enter their fourth year of a cycle of low commodity prices and stubbornly high input costs. Ag leaders noted there are...

USDA has unveiled One Farmer, One File for farmers to access USDA services through a single log-in they can use to enroll in either FSA or NRCS programs. USDA also plans to use the platform...

The spring projected price used for crop insurance revenue policies for the 2026-27 corn crop on Friday ended February at $4.62 a bushel. The soybean projected price came in at $11.09, up 55 cents from last year's price...

The frustration levels are high as farmers are moving into their fourth year of a continued cycle of low commodity prices and stubbornly high input costs. Ag leaders note there are no silver bullets for managing through the...

Farmers for Free Trade has been highlighting the importance of trade deals since the first Trump administration but has ramped up its focus in the past year on protecting the USMCA as well. The group held a discussion on...

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Friday at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum that the department is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to examine USDA's statistical data collection, analysis and research.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the ad-hoc FBA program will open enrollment from Feb. 23 to April 17. The program has specific payment rates for farmers and payments are capped at $155,000 per individual or entity.

Beef production is expected to decline again in 2026, but growth in pork, turkey and broilers is expected to offset the decline. Consumer demand isn't declining but remains strong and is expected to support prices for the...

Corn production is projected to decline 7% with lower planted acreage and lower yield forecast as well, coming off record production in the 2025-26 crop. Soybean acreage will rise because of projected profitability over other...

President Donald Trump issued an executive order to protect the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate. The order gives the Agriculture Secretary authority to direct the production of both crop inputs. It...

USDA on Tuesday again proposed to increase line speeds for processing poultry and pork. This has been a long-standing issue sparking proposed rules, pilot projects, studies and litigation over the past decades. USDA argues more...

The new farm bill contains a range of provisions and studies, including regulatory changes for both pesticides and livestock production, likely setting up some partisan divisions as the bill advances. The bill also addresses...

The Texas state agriculture commissioner said the state needs to better prepare for agricultural disasters. At the same time, the Trump administration moved ahead with the president's desire to end EPA regulation of greenhouse...

Corn farmers from both Iowa and Texas are calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to spell out what the Justice Department is doing to examine the fertilizer industry. Their efforts come after USDA's deputy secretary called...

The Texas state agriculture commissioner said the state needs to better prepare for agricultural disasters. At the same time, the Trump administration moved ahead with the president's desire to end EPA regulation of greenhouse...

President Donald Trump continues to question why he shouldn't withdraw from the USMCA trade agreement, which is set for a review this summer. Farm groups have been vocal about their support for USMCA. A Senate hearing on...

In a proclamation Friday, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would lower the tariff rate quota to increase imports of lean beef trimmings and all of the increased quota would come from...

At the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on Thursday, E15 was the main topic of the day, though carbon pipelines also had their moment, along with the 45Z tax credit and the unrealized prospects of...

Net farm income, defined by USDA as a broad measure of profits, is expected to decline by $4.1 billion, when adjusted for inflation, or about 2.6% lower in 2026 compared to last year. While projecting lower farm income for 2026...

USDA made its first major Food for Peace announcement after taking over the program following the end of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USDA released details of an...

Congress and USDA's Risk Management Agency have made it more attractive to add SCO and ECO crop insurance for 2026. An agricultural economist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln offered some things to consider when buying...

As the deaths of two American citizens in Minnesota have increased pressure on President Donald Trump to change his administration's policies on immigration enforcement, farmers and agricultural groups again are looking for some...

President Donald Trump again declared his support for E15 legislation as the president held a campaign rally in Iowa. The president only briefly touched on problems with the farm economy but maintained his trade and tax policies had...

The president of the Minnesota Farmers Union said agriculture is affected by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, even if it is mainly concentrated in the state's largest metro area. After another shooting, Gov. Tim...

In a bipartisan letter, leaders on the Senate Agriculture Committee wrote Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday calling on the department to reinstate additional crop insurance coverage for acres prevented from being...

Rather than approve year-round E15 for fuel retailers, the House included language in an appropriations bill to create the E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council, which will be appointed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to look at...

As Congress readies votes for some key funding bills, Midwest lawmakers were pushing for year-round E15 to be included in the package. Iowa farm and biofuel groups are stressing E15 is critical...

Since becoming Agriculture secretary last year, Rollins has made it a point to engage in battles against what she sees as government overreach targeting farms and ranches. During the past few months, a fight in the state of...

Congressional Republicans are proposing up to $15 billion in farmer aid that would be added to appropriation bills before the end of the month. House Democrats on Thursday proposed $17 billion in aid to farmers. Both proposals would...

In a wide-ranging speech on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called for E15 legislation and touched on some challenges facing farmers. But she also pointed to several major policy wins for farmers under the Trump...

Speaking before Farm Bureau members, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees said their priorities next year center on strengthening risk management tools, expanding credit and loan programs, fixing the H-2A...

The president of the American Farm Bureau Federation said farmers need more aid than will be provided to them under USDA's Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program. He also stressed that Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) policies...

The current farm downturn is stretching into its fourth year. Farmers, economists and others are increasingly split over whether repeated cycles of ad-hoc aid is enough. There are growing questions over whether policymakers...

The Chinese government on Dec. 31 announced tighter limits on beef imports for three years. U.S. beef exports to China have fallen dramatically this year because of the trade war, but the...

Farm groups weighed in on the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), saying the aid is helpful, but markets and better policies are needed to boost farmers' bottom lines.

Waiting until the end of the year, USDA on Wednesday released payment rates for the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program. Payments for the program should start arriving at the end of February.

The No. 1 article for DTN's Top Ag Stories of 2025 highlights how President Donald Trump turned tariffs from a trade bargaining chip into a lever to reshape the country's economic policies.

In an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register on Monday, USDA asks stakeholders to comment on possible changes to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, which was last updated in 2006.

No. 3 on DTN's list of the Top 10 Ag Stories of the Year focuses on how much of an impact the One Big Beautiful Bill had on farm and family taxes, as well as how it influenced farm policy.

As analysts often offer their outlook on the next year, here's a tongue-in-cheek look at the forecast for 2026 farm policy changes where certainty is promised, everything is rebranded, markets get created and common sense...

In the No. 6 article of DTN's Top Ag Stories of 2025, DTN looks at some of the farm economic and finance challenges that crop producers faced throughout the year. Labor shortages in agriculture faced a new complication as the...

The No. 7 article of DTN's Top Ag Stories of 2025 revisits how the Trump administration used its DOGE initiative to slash government spending and eliminate staff. Agriculture and farmers were in the middle of the fallout as...

The House passed the Pet and Livestock Protection Act on a 211-204 vote on Dec. 18. The bill orders the Interior Secretary to issue new regulations removing the gray wolf from being listed as endangered or threatened under the...

A new report from USDA's Office of Inspector General points out more than 20,000 employees across every agency left USDA in the first half of 2025. Most of the job losses were through a buyout program. The cuts hit some...

DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton shares why a simple picture can help tell a complex story.

Under the FBA, $11 billion will go to commodity crop farmers while another $1 billion will be reserved for specialty crops. Economists at the University of Illinois have projected potential payments, which surprisingly show soybean...

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is now tasked with deciding whether to greenlight the $85 billion Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, which is considered the largest railroad consolidation in history.

Monday was the deadline to enroll in Affordable Care Act health-insurance plans for 2026 coverage. The deadline comes as people signing up for plans are seeing premium spikes and enrollment is expected to dramatically fall without...