Latest News From Anna-Lisa Laca

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides that eligible employees are entitled to paid sick time because of COVID-19, and employers are eligible for a tax credit to offset the expense.

The board of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) voted unanimously to implement a group of workplace protocols to protect employees from COVID-19.

As large Chinese purchases of soybeans continue to roll in while rumors of a broken relationship abound, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer assured farmers on Wednesday that the deal is still intact.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week published a checklist for agricultural employers to use to prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19.

The new rule will be implemented on Monday.

A biotechnology company in South Dakota is using cows to produce human antibodies to fight SARS-CoV-2.

Beth Ford, CEO of Land O’ Lakes recently shared her thoughts on food production moving forward.  

University of Minnesota economist Marin Bozic says the program will help avert disaster in the dairy industry.

The company’s corporate offices, manufacturing facilities and ag retail cooperatives have turned on their guest WiFi to increase access across more than 14 states. 

The troubled 2015 WOTUS rule introduced by the Obama administration in 2015 to define which waters are regulated by the Clean Water Act was officially replaced today by the Navigable Waters Protection Rule.

The Senate on Thursday passed USMCA in a landfall vote of 89-10. As expected, the agriculture industry praised the passage and looks forward to President Donald Trump signing the bill into law.

On Wednesday President Donald Trump and Vice Premier Liu He signed the Phase One portion of the trade deal between the U.S. and China.

USDA released a slew of reports of Friday, initially sending markets lower.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly passed the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA).

On Wednesday, 34 Republicans joined 226 Democrats passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5038).

County FSA offices have been directed to prioritize processing of the payments and conclude that by November 22.

USDA Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday announced that the second tranche of 2019 Market Facilitation Program payments will begin being issued next week. 

While farmers wait for the second round of the 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments to be announced, lawmakers disagree on the program’s benefits and the need for more payments.

USDA, this week, will release new rules around industrial hemp.

As 2019 comes to a close, trade is still at the forefront of farmers’ minds. Will President Trump get a deal done with China? One analyst says yes, and no.

This week USDA issued clarification on the alfalfa issues farmers are experiencing related to MFP.

In an interview with Lesley Stahlon from 60 Minutes over the weekend, Land O Lakes CEO Beth Ford addressed the struggles farmers are feeling.

President Donald Trump and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe met in New York on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing negotiations of the U.S.-Japan Free Trade Agreement

All former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture since President Reagan’s Administration announced on Thursday their support for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Farmers affected by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019, including Hurricane Dorian, can apply for assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). 

As the outer bands of hurricane Dorian approach North Carolina, farmers there are in a rush to harvest their crops.

USDA began issuing the second round of Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments on Aug. 21.

Amid increasing tariffs and controversial biofuels policies, farmer support for President Donald Trump is waning.

POET officials say the process to idle the plant will take several weeks, after which the plant will cease processing of over 30 million bushels of corn annually.

USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Thursday said it will defer accrual of interest for all agricultural producers’ spring 2019 crop year insurance premiums.

Lance Honig, crops branch chief of USDA National Ag Statistics Service, hosted #statchat on Monday to help clear up some questions. 

After months of uncertainty and murky details, the agency announced per acre payments will vary by county but will range from $15 to $150. 

Kirk Heinz and Michael Clark of BAMWX.com validated those fears on an episode of AgriTalk this week. 

The report, which is the first of the season to include silking and blooming data, shows just how far behind the corn and soybean crops continue to be.

Getting the crop planted is just the start of the battle.

In the parts of the country where fields are still too wet to get planters into fields, farmers are flying on soybean seed. 

On rented land, it’s critical to ensure proper communication about prevented plant with the landowner, says Chris Barron, farmer and CEO of Ag View solutions and a Top Producer columnist.

On rented land, it’s critical to ensure proper communication about prevented plant with the landowner, says Chris Barron, farmer and CEO of Ag View solutions and a Top Producer columnist.

While the rain continues to fall, the markets are making the decision to claim prevented plant more difficult.

The first step farmers should do when considering prevent plant as an option is to call their insurance agent, says Bob Hartsough of Silveus Insurance Group. 

Following the trade aid announcement earlier this week, farmers were left with more questions than answers.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue cleared up some of the cloudiness on Friday in an interview with AgriTalk host Chip Flory.

While the program has been expanded to include several crops not included in the 2018 aid, farmers will only be paid on crops planted, which makes already fraught prevent plan insurance decisions all that more difficult.

In a letter sent to Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday, President Trump urged lawmakers to approve the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement before taking up infrastructure legislation. 

USDA squashed Bloomberg trade aid rumors Tuesday afternoon.

While the weather is weighing down on soybean planting progress, most farmers still have time to get seeds in the ground.

The path to ratification of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement took a step forward on Monday when Canada and Mexico removed retaliatory tariffs on many products.

Some market analysts say the May 20 crop progress report from USDA will show the potential for trendline corn yields this year is now gone.

While some support the President’s trade tactics, others don’t.

Analysts warn it could be a very long time before this trade tit for tat is in the rearview mirror.