Latest News From POLICY

The Biden Administration’s policies are expected to impact roughly 100 million working Americans. Here’s what you need to know.

AgriTalk's Chip Flory and Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer discuss the price tag of the human infrastructure bill, the Senate gearing up to hold hearings on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, vaccine mandates and more.

U.S. Energy Secretary Granholm joins AgriTalk’s Chip Flory to discuss clean energy, as outlined in the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Hurricane Ida, and possible aid to producers, was a big topic of the Farm Journal Farm Country Update with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack Thursday. Vilsack highlighted when additional aid may be on the way. 

U.S. Secretary spoke on the impacts of climate change in the agricultural industry, as well as prevention plans set forth by the Biden Administration, during Thursday's Farm Journal Farm Country Update.

Grain shippers on the Gulf Coast reported more damage from Hurricane Ida to their terminals on Wednesday as Cargill confirmed damage to a second facility, power outages across southern Louisiana kept others shuttered.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will join Clinton Griffiths for a virtual live town-hall Sept. 2 at 2 p.m. CDT. Farmers and ranchers will ask about the most pressing issues and opportunities they face.

Hurricane Ida packed a punch of 150 mph winds this weekend, crippling grain shipping facilities in a key export area along the lower Mississippi River. Now it's a question of how long export activity could be shuttered.

USDA is out with its new ag export forecast for both this year and next, and it's showing exports could hit $173.5 billion in 2021, $4 billion more than 2020, due to higher livestock, poultry and dairy exports.

Reports last week claimed EPA was prepared to suggest lowering the renewable fuel volume requirements below 2020 levels. Monday, biofuels groups provided some clarity on what are the facts of the issue today.

The EPA is expected to recommend to the White House lowering the nation's biofuel blending mandates below 2020 levels, in what would be a blow to the biofuels industry, two sources familiar with the matter said Friday.

EPA is banning the use on food crops of the pesticide chlorpyrifos. The decision is a victory for environmental activists who have fought to stop the use of the chemical that is applied to row and produce crops. 

Biofuels groups are asking for a rehearing on a recent appeals court decision that blocked the sale of E15 year-round. The approval of E15 sales during the summer driving season was made by the Trump Administration.

Solar could supply more than 40% of the nation's electricity by 2035 if Congress adopts policies like tax credits for renewable energy projects and component factories, according to a memo by the Department of Energy.

Shipping issues continue to surface. The latest is in China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan container port, which is the third-busiest in the world, and has been partially shut down for six days, with no sign of reopening yet.

A big increase in benefits is on the way for Americans receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The average SNAP benefit will increase for FY 2022 beginning on Oct. 1, according to the agency.

USDA's August Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) produced a few surprises, both when it came to possible crop supplies and adjustments to demand. 

USDA’s August crop production report produced a few surprises, including a 5 bu./a cut to the national corn yield. The report sent corn futures up nearly 20 cents immediately after the report was published.

The Senate passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill Tuesday, and transportation could receive more than half the new funding slated in the bill, but the plan is expected to hit a major roadblock in the House.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack joined AgriTalk host Chip Flory on Tuesday to celebrate what he described as an important first step in the process of improving infrastructure in rural America and across the country.

Biden signed an executive order to create a zero-emissions auto fleet by boosting the sale of electric vehicles. The plan also updated emissions standards for light cars and trucks but made no mention of ethanol.

President Biden will sign an executive order on Thursday aimed at making half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emissions vehicles and will propose new vehicle-emission rules to cut pollution through 2026.

AgriTalk's Chip Flory and Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer discuss the Build Back Better plan, analyze the WOTUS reset rule and more.

China's government quietly issued new procurement guidelines in May that require up to 100% local content on hundreds of items, and in turn, violated the spirit of the January 2020 Phase One trade deal with the U.S.

The dollar lurched lower on Monday, back towards the one-month lows hit last week when it became clear the Fed was in no hurry to tighten policy.

EPA announced it's creating a durable definition of WOTUS by reverting back to the pre-Obama era rule as a framework. EPA is encouraging farmers and ranchers to weigh in during a series of public meetings in August.

The Senate cleared a key procedural vote on a bipartisan infrastructure deal Wednesday, which could set Biden’s infrastructure focus into action. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called it “a very big moment."

New WHIP+ legislation made its way out of the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday. The $8.5B bill expands not only the type of weather events and resulted losses covered, but also the level of drought needed to qualify.

U.S. and Chinese officials met face-to-face for high-level talks, and the meeting had a tense tone as the countries remain at odds over issues from cyber security to human rights. 

AgriTalk's Davis Michaelsen and Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer discuss what's on the agenda for lawmakers before the August recess, including the infrastructure plan, meatpacking issues, WHIP+ and more.

AgriTalk's Chip Flory and Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer discuss new court rulings affecting the renewable fuel standard, senate hearings on immigrant farm workers, pressure on the crude oil market and more.

After President Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order late last week, NCBA and other livestock groups praised the President's focus on meat, poultry. However, not every ag group is on board with the President's plan.

President Biden is tackling anti-competitive issues in the U.S. with a new Executive Order. Signed Friday at the White House, the order could have a sweeping impact on agriculture.

President Biden will order U.S. transportation agencies to address competition in rail and sea shipping in an effort to lower the costs of shipping goods for companies, a source told Reuters on Thursday.

USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack is scheduled to travel to Nebraska Friday for what the agency is calling a "major announcement." It could include details of the Biden Administration's plan to create more competition within ag.

Shipping giant Maersk says the backlog of vessels waiting to reach berths at the Port of Yantian has greatly improved in the past 10 days.

After more than a decade of legislative proposals, the Biden Administration is preparing plans to allow equipment owners to have the right to repair their own equipment. AEM and John Deere responded to the planned order.

U.S. President Joe Biden wants the Federal Trade Commission to limit the ability of farm equipment manufacturers to restrict tractor owners from using independent repair shops or complete some repairs on their own.

USDA’s June 30 Acreage report is known to offer a few surprises, and the 2021 edition delivered. 

CRP acres often follow market forces, according to research from Farmer Mac. As such, today’s high cash grain prices may dissuade producers from enrolling acreage in CRP programs.

What happens when wild pigs are given 1,000 tons of groceries per day in the form of landfill trash? Expect a ticking time bomb, and quite possibly, a $50 billion blow to the entire U.S. pork industry.

AgriTalk's Chip Flory and Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer discuss slow downs in pork processing, the senate meeting on cattle market transparency, the bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure bill and more.

As USDA prepares to post its June 30 planted acreage report, the trade expects U.S. acres to increase. Farmers from Michigan to Mississippi weigh in on how much their planting plans did or didn't change since March.

A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a part of the Biden administration's federal stimulus relief package that forgave agricultural debts to farmers of color.

After months of negotiations, President Biden and announced Thursday a deal was reached on an infrastructure spending plan. The news came after a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators Thursday.

The Department of Justice filed court documents Friday in defense of USDA’s plan to forgive debt for socially disadvantaged farmers. The filing is in response to a Judge's recent ruling to halt the payments.

A bipartisan infrastructure plan in Congress is gaining support, with the number of Senators working on the bill now doubled, expanding to 21 members. The proposed legislation would still need additional support.

The dollars tagged for such purposes are part of the Build Back Better program, the Biden administration’s COVID-19 relief plan.

A 17-year conflict over aircraft subsidies is coming to a temporary close as the U.S. and European Union have agreed to a truce, and it could spill over into a positive move for certain U.S. agricultural goods. 

“I like to say you’re going to have to have a permit to do normal farming decisions,” he told Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk.