Chris Clayton

The legislation signing and brief comments at the White House ends a week of high-stakes drama in Washington that saw Congress immediately act in bipartisan fashion to prevent 115,000 or so rail workers from potentially shutting...

While hundreds of thousands of farms legitimately received aid through PPP loans in 2020 and 2021, there was also a lot of fraud. Potato farms in Palm Beach, Florida, orange orchards in Minnesota, and cattle operations on a New...

The Senate voted Thursday afternoon 80-15 to require the 12 railroad unions to accept a contract and avoid a potential railroad strike on Dec. 9. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden who had called on Congress to act on Monday.

USDA's Farm Income Forecast looks at broad measures of cash receipts, government payments and input costs for calendar year 2022. Net cash farm income, which factors in the value of everything farmers sold or are still selling...

The House on Wednesday debated two resolutions, one of which included the details of the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) agreement that eight of 12 rail unions voted to support. That resolution, House Resolution 100...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) handed down the decision Monday to deny an application from several livestock and agricultural groups over the hours-of-service (HOS) rules.

Carefully review requirements before enrolling in a carbon program.

Carefully review requirements before enrolling in a carbon program. Here are some of the major carbon programs already established.

President Joe Biden issued a statement Monday calling on Congress to step in without delay to prevent a rail strike that could happen by Dec. 9. A letter Monday from more than 400 business groups also called on Congress to...

A letter Monday from more than 400 business groups called on Congress to intervene to prevent a railroad strike that could happen by Dec. 9. President Joe Biden also is considering a plan to ask Congress to act.

The U.S. Trade Representative's Office announced the Japanese legislature's approval of a "beef safeguard mechanism" under the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement.

A White House spokeswoman said Monday the president would not accept a railroad worker strike because of the damage it would do to the economy. As agricultural groups and others call on Congress to act, Republicans are ready...

A federal court in Minnesota has combined claims brought by several major retailers and wholesalers against the country's four largest packers, along with similar complaints filed by livestock and agricultural groups.

Lower water flows coming from the Missouri River will lead to longer dredging operations on the Mississippi River around St. Louis to keep a navigation channel open.

Both farmers and farmworkers are lobbying on Capitol Hill this week to urge the Senate to act on farm worker immigration reform. Both farm and farmworker leaders fear if Republicans take control of the House, GOP leaders will...

AFBF on Wednesday released its 37th annual survey of prices for a traditional Thanksgiving feast for 10 people. The costs came out at about $64.05, or about $10.74 higher than a year ago, a 20% increase in costs. A lot of that...

USDA on Tuesday detailed the next phase of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP II) as well as the newly created Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP). Neither program is actually ready for farmers or ranchers to start...

Here are some of the things farmers should consider closely in contracts if they decide to sell carbon credits.

The administrator for the Farm Service Agency, in a trip to Iowa, talked with young farmers and community leaders about access to land and FSA loan programs. He also suggested some flexibility is needed in the Conservation...

Carefully review requirements before enrolling in a carbon program. Here are some of the major carbon programs already established.

A narrow House majority for Republicans could help bring together a farm bill if Republicans are willing to work across the aisle, especially on nutrition issues.

At least seven people stood up at separate times during an early panel discussion at the Carbon Capture Conference and Expo in Des Moines on Tuesday, blowing whistles and cursing representatives from carbon pipeline and...

There was no midterm red wave Tuesday but early Wednesday the Republican party still had eyes on control of Congress. Republicans lead Democrats in races called for the House, but the Democratic win in the Pennsylvania Senate...

How well will current strong commodity prices carry farm incomes into 2023 and beyond remains a question for bankers gathered in Omaha for the American Bankers Association's Agricultural Bankers Conference.

The 50-50 Senate could remain that way after Tuesday. Republicans have 21 held seats up for election, but the only listed "tossup" is the open Pennsylvania seat, according to Cook Political Report. Democrats have 14 seats to...

Just in case you've been in a combine all fall, Republicans are favored to take the U.S. House of Representatives following the midterm elections on Nov. 8. Fewer GOP members are in competitive races and Republicans need to pick up...

Farmers use different terms but share similar motives for making their operations more resilient to extreme weather conditions.

A coalition of mayors along the Mississippi River is seeking changes to federal law that would provide funds to compensate farmers who shut off irrigation. They also want changes in watershed management that would keep water...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack detailed more than $223 million in loans and grants through multiple USDA programs as the department releases funds to increase local and regional processing capacity. The projects, which go back...

The 2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak that began last February is getting close to reaching the devastation of 2014-15 levels, which has been considered as the largest animal-disease outbreak in U.S. history...

Farmers use different terms but share similar motives for making their operations more resilient to extreme weather conditions.

Despite the Russian announcement, Ukraine's government on Monday reported 12 ships had left ports carrying 354,500 metric tons of grain for Africa, Asia and Europe. The announcement by Russia to withdraw from Black Sea Initiative...

At least two Cargill grain elevators on the Mississippi River have stopped taking corn and soybeans because the bins are full, and they can't send grain down the river fast enough. Meanwhile, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials...

Global Processing Inc., based in Kanawha, Iowa, filed for bankruptcy on Monday in the U.S. District Court for Northern Iowa. The filing comes weeks after the company had its grain licenses suspended in Iowa and surrendered its grain...

ADM beat out earning expectations for its third quarter, citing robust strong global demand and improved shipping as part of the reasons for profits to top 56% higher than the same quarter a year ago.

It may just be a proof-of-concept project to test the permitting challenges, but a western Kansas groundwater district is looking to haul water from the Missouri River to a couple of locations in western Kansas and eastern...

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said there are dire challenges when it comes to food security, but the greater emphasis on climate-smart agriculture in the U.S. and globally will transform the industry into more positive...

A new report released Wednesday by Environmental Defense Fund at the Borlaug Dialogue analyzed how climate change will alter yields in Iowa, Minnesota and Kansas by 2030 and 2050. The report shows climate impacts will slow the...

The Borlaug Dialogue kicked off Tuesday in Des Moines with a heavy focus on fragile food supply chains and the challenges caused by the war in Ukraine.

The list of payments to producers to pay off delinquent loans will help as many as 34,000 borrowers, USDA officials said Tuesday. The $3.1 billion in debt relief comes from funding in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Federal Milk Marketing Order goes back to the Depression era, but it is still the backbone for price discovery for fluid milk nationally. The American Farm Bureau held a forum to look at ways to make the FMMO more responsive...

A class-action lawsuit has been filed by Black farmers on behalf of socially disadvantaged farmers as defined under the American Rescue Plan. Congress had revoked those provisions and replaced it with a new program. Now USDA is...

The American Farm Bureau released roughly 60 recommendations for Congress to consider in the next farm bill. A key priority -- one backed by some commodity groups -- is that Congress needs to raise the reference prices used...

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada's agricultural minister, said agricultural production losses from extreme weather events are bigger risks to food production in her country than the government's emission targets. The agricultural...

In their farm-bill policy platform, RIPE and its board members want Congress to take a look at $18 billion that was part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for conservation programs and change the payment formula for programs...

An event Friday by the Kansas City and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Banks highlighted the various problems with inflation but few lights at the end of the tunnel. One key issue that could dramatically dial back food and fertilizer...

Over the past year, farmers and provincial leaders in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, Canada, have become more vocal about their worries over a voluntary federal plan to cut nitrogen fertilizer emissions 30% by 2030. The fear...

The new president of the National Corn Growers Association touches on the farm bill and expanding ethanol, but a looming corn import ban by Mexico could become the biggest issue during his tenure.

The California Farm Bureau says a new farm worker law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday will force the state's farmers and ranchers to choose to give up free speech and private property rights in a trade over union...

A corn mill seemed to fit on the northern edge of Grand Forks, N.D., but the project led by a Chinese company, Fufeng Group, has now become one of the biggest political and national security debates over Chinese foreign...

Despite higher-priced inputs, interest rates and inflation, overall conditions for Midwest farmers right now are stronger than they were before the pandemic. Labor remains a driver of inflationary pressure, affecting several...

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware on Friday ruled that privately held U.S. Sugar Corp. can move ahead with its acquisition of Imperial Sugar Co. from Louis Dreyfus Co. The Department of Justice sued last year to block...

Small high-tech businesses, farmers and rural residents could get some high-speed boosts as the Biden administration starts rolling out more broadband funding through different avenues. USDA on Thursday awarded $502 million in...

President Joe Biden committed to boosting U.S. food aid on Wednesday in his speech at the United Nations. Most of the aid, about $2 billion, will come through the U.S. Agency for International Development, with the rest coming from...

The cattlemen's groups have some issues with the Biden administration over fake meat grown in a petri dish after a senior administration official referenced "foods made with cultured animal cells. An Executive Order signed by...

NFU members met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and several members of USDA's leadership team as the group's lobbying fly-in became the largest outside gathering at USDA's main office building since COVID-19 struck.

Since at least 2009, leaders at Solutions from the Land have been coming back from these United Nations "COP" meetings talking about climate-smart agriculture. They were talking about U.S. agriculture taking a lead on climate...

The Supreme Court on Oct. 11 will hear arguments from the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation against the state of California and the Humane Society of the United States over Prop. 12. NPPC...

The deal, if culminated, offers a sigh of relief across the agricultural and biofuels supply chain. Agricultural groups this past week had increasingly called on Congress to prepare to step in to block a potential strike that would...

Farmers could see price impacts and struggles getting access to fertilizer because of a possible railroad strike. Some livestock producers could also face problems getting their usual feed deliveries. Fuel prices could rise because...

USDA on Wednesday detailed 70 grants totaling up to $2.8 billion in potential funding under the Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities. The program was initially expected to cost $1 billion, but USDA increased funding after...

USDA on Wednesday announced 70 grants totaling up to $2.8 billion in potential funding under the Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities. The program was initially expected to cost $1 billion, but USDA increased funding after...

EPA Administrator Michael Regan spoke to members of Growth Energy on Tuesday about the agency's pathway forward on the RFS and E15. Later in the afternoon, biofuel and agricultural leaders also took part in a White House...

NFU members met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and several members of USDA's leadership team as the group's lobbying fly-in became the largest outside gathering at USDA's main office building since COVID-19 struck.

The debate over EPA potentially regulating livestock emissions led to a hearing on Sept. 7 over a bill that would permanently prevent EPA from taking such action. EPA has not proposed any regulations of greenhouse emissions from...

The Farm Service Agency paid out more than $31 billion to agricultural producers in 2020 and 2021 under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. A GAO report released Thursday showed the agency wasn't stringent enough in...

Scoular states the purchase will more than double its grain storage capacity in northwestern Kansas. The deal reduces some area competition, especially around Goodland, Kansas, where Scoular already owns two facilities.