Latest News From POLICY

A year ago, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine injected uncertainty about global grain supplies into the market. Today, initial concerns have been squashed by the reality of record exports from the Black Sea Region.

The U.S. appears to be pursuing a case via USMCA on the matter: “That is going to happen, because we're essentially in a circumstance where this is not a situation that lends itself to a compromise,” Vilsack said.

Despite weather trends, planting projections for 2023 find corn, wheat and soybeans similar to 2022, for a combined 228 million acres—a 3% increase from 2022.

“If California were to win this Supreme Court case, there’s nothing stopping the state from saying, for example, you can only sell corn in California if it’s harvested with an electric combine,” Dillard says.

Is the Biden Administration's trade agenda finally making some progress? Farm groups are hopeful after key appointments are confirmed and some recent success stories on the trade front.

SNAP, which historically receives the greatest amount of farm bill funding, will see an 82% increase of a quarter-trillion-dollars.

“Over the long term, our projections suggest that changes in fiscal policy must be made to address the rising costs of interest and mitigate other adverse consequences of high and rising debt," CBO Director Swagel said

A filing Tuesday by the Department of Justice urged a federal court in Illinois not to throw out a class action suit that consolidated several farmers’ lawsuits against John Deere over repair restrictions.

The House will take the reins in writing farm bill 2023. House Ag Chairman Thompson says the pen is “firmly” in his hand, with few tweaks to be made from 2018. The Senate says their version is nearly complete.

This blog summarizes the 60-plus year history of the European's Common Agricultural Policy, from its launch as a system set up to protect producers in six European countries to today's 27-member EU exporting behemoth.

With the expansion of the U.S. soybean processing industry due to the push for green fuels farmers are looking for a new home for the extra meal...and they're finding it in Morocco.

A Senate Ag Committee hearing Thursday on the new farm bill raised a issue that is now evident: the Title 1 farm bill safety net can no longer deal with the current ag environment.

Mexico's new decree will indicate that if U.S. GMO corn passes the sanitary filters of the Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), it will have no problem entering Mexico.

The 2018 farm bill was stamped with a $428 billon price tag when passed. With the bill set to expire on Sept. 30, here’s a breakdown of the topics ag groups look to push on the negotiating table.

Has U.S. gasoline demand peaked? And what will more electric vehicles mean for gasoline prices down the road? John Phipps looks into the issue in John's World.

In hopes of solidifying American ag’s competitive role in global markets, 27 House members signed a letter to the White House, stressing the importance of ag research investments in the 2024 budget.

“With 90% of corn acreage in the U.S. being planted to biotech seeds and Mexico being the number one purchaser of U.S. corn, I'm concerned this decree is not being met with urgency it deserves,” said Sen. Grassley.

With Republicans now in control of the House, Rep. RandyFeenstra (R-Iowa) said he wants to introduce legislation shielding the stepped-up basis and like-kind exchanges.

“It’s a mystery as to why the USDA began to hide the names of many recipients,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs for the Environmental Working Group.

The revamped foods program would absorb the functions of Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Office of Food Policy and Response, as well as some of the work of the Office of Regulatory Affairs.

Vilsack said USDA believes there are more options for farmers other than “get big or get out. There’s got to be a system in which the many and most have a fair shot.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been dredging the river 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since July but hopes to finish very soon.

USDA's second-highest ranking executive, Jewel Bronaugh, announced her resignation on Thursday as Agriculture Deputy Secretary.

“The funds awarded today by the DOE will undoubtedly accelerate the innovations taking place at U.S. ethanol plants, opening new opportunities for low-cost, low-carbon energy,” says Growth Energy's Emily Skor.

While Mexico wants to reduce its imports of corn by 30% to 40% by 2024, Mexico's Deputy Ag Minister Victor Suarez told reporters that it cannot replace its imports of U.S. corn for livestock feed.

Reps. Dusty Johnson and Jim Costa on Tuesday introduced the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking (SHIP IT) Act to expand the trucking workforce and offer flexibility in times of need.

U.S. officials told Mexico its approach on biotech crops are still “not grounded in science," and will face a USMCA battle if the matter is not resolved.

Profitability and efficiency are big drivers for growers evaluating conservation-based farming practices. Each farmer who spoke at the Trust In Food Symposium said they have adopted at least one such practice, to date.

For example, Rep. Ralph Norman in the past unsuccessfully pushed crop insurance amendments that would have cut premium incentives/subsidies by 15% for producers with specified adjusted gross incomes.

Some legislative officials have discussed the possibility that the Treasury could use an obscure law authorizing platinum coins to circumvent Congress if lawmakers don't raise the debt ceiling.

Sen. Anderson introduced a resolution last Friday aimed at phasing out electric vehicle sales in Wyoming by 2035. The resolution was referred to the state's minerals committee, who tabled it until 2024.

Farm Bureau's Duvall says the rule puts farmers and ranchers in a position where they will have to hire lawyers and consultants to establish the boundaries of farming.

If the nation’s debt hits $31.4 trillion—it’s on track to do so by this Thurs.—the Treasury will need to take “extraordinary measures” to help pay the government's operations and ward off a historic default.

Mexico and Canada had challenged the U.S. method for calculating the regional content required under the USMCA trade pact for cars to have tariff-free access to the U.S.

Mexican President López Obrador hosted President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau this week to discuss everything from methane reduction to the U.S./Mexico border wall.

Farm Bureau hosted Secretary Vilsack at its annual convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he announced the details of ERP Phase 2 and PARP, U.S.-made fertilizer and new meat and poultry processing facility plans.

The “right to repair” issue has been an ongoing hot topic, and now, a MOU between Deere & Co and AFBF means farmers will be able to repair their own equipment or use an independent technician.

After four days and 15 rounds of voting, McCarthy’s wait to become Speaker of the House has ended. During his first year as Speaker, he will need to raise the debt limit and fund the government.

“For the next two years, I am intensely focused on… leading the passage of the next five-year Farm Bill, which determines our nation’s food and agriculture policies," says Sen. Stabenow.

ERP Phase Two is likely to be announced by USDA in coming weeks, according to Jim Wiesemeyer. In a farm bill year, he says there might be more opportunities to capture additional profit.

We have a new definition for the Waters of the U.S. — at least for now. Some farm groups, including the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, are unhappy with the outcome.

The definition maintains longstanding exemptions for farming activities but trims an exclusion for prior converted cropland that had been in the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule.

Big moves in Washington in 2023 could impact your farm.

Export tariffs on aluminum and aluminum alloys will be raised. The current import tariff will stay on seven types of coal until March 31, with tariffs adopted for most favored nations from April 1.

The House on Friday averted a government shutdown by voting 225 to 201 in favor of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023—the omnibus spending bill. Here's what's in it for ag.

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Alexis Taylor for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. According to Taylor, her priorities include addressing export markets and food insecurity.

Government officials asked U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai to capitalize on the success of the USMCA and expand relations in the Western Hemisphere. 

Soybean oil, food waste and leftover feedstocks and manure will be turned into bioproducts like asphalt and plastic, thanks to a USDA program aimed at increasing U.S. competition in global markets.

Under the USMCA, Canada conceded to granting lower tariff access across dairy products. But Canada was allocating a bulk of those imports to processors, limiting the ability of other groups to buy U.S. products.

Text of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package was released early Tuesday morning. The Senate will vote first and intends to pass the measure before Thursday, leaving the House no time to demand changes.