Federal

From the Capital Press With the 2018 Farm Bill set to expire on Sept. 30, the race to pass a new farm bill is underway in Congress. To snatch a first glance at the 2023 Farm Bill, Capital Press talked with the bill’s lead authors: Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, ... Read More »

By Farm News Media It’s time to “think anew,” said Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 104th Annual Convention. He said western droughts, COVID and the war in Ukraine are just a few barriers the American farmer has overcome in recent years to obtain record farm income. Yet, he said there’s reason to pause and think ... Read More »

By Trista Crossley Editor, Wheat Life At one of the break-out sessions at the 2022 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, growers got an “inside the beltway” perspective of the 118th Congress and potential impacts of the 2022 elections on wheat industry priorities. Congress began the new session divided. There are slim majorities in both chambers with the Republicans holding the House ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) welcomes the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Alexis Taylor to serve as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs. Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Taylor by a voice vote. “NAWG applauds the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Last November, longtime USDA official Marcia Bunger became the first woman to hold the role of administrator at the Agriculture Department’s Risk Management Agency, which manages federal crop insurance. Before becoming RMA administrator, Bunger worked for decades in USDA’s Farm Service Agency. She is also an owner and operator of a 2,000-acre family farm. Dec. 16, ... Read More »

From DTN The massive spending bill negotiated for Congress to pass before adjourning includes language allowing USDA to establish rules and verification protocols for agricultural carbon market programs. The $1.7 trillion “omnibus” spending bill, however, does not include any immigration reform for agricultural workers under H-2A, despite an impassioned plea on the Senate floor Monday night by the lead champion ... Read More »

From U.S. Wheat Associates A coalition of U.S. farm and food industry groups recently expressed support for a bipartisan Congressional agreement that, in part, maintains navigational access to the Lower Snake River Dams. The Agricultural Transportation Working Group noted that the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022 helps protect U.S. agriculture’s dependence on comprehensive transportation system including inland waterways ... Read More »

Incoming House Ag Committee Chair Lays Out Farm Bill, Ag Supply Chain Priorities From DTNpf.com Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania got the call Wednesday afternoon from a Republican steering committee that he would officially chair the House Agriculture Committee in the next Congress. “We need to hear those voices from throughout rural America and make sure that we’re putting ... Read More »

From Bloomberg American farmers have a message for the Agriculture Department: Fill the empty chairs plaguing your local offices. A wave of retirements and an inability to keep pace with private-sector salaries have caused staffing to plunge at key offices. The Farm Service Agency, which provides front-line help to farmers nationwide, now has 2,000 fewer workers than it did in ... Read More »

In a letter to congressional leadership, more than 300 agriculture, environment, academic, infrastructure and other stakeholder groups asked Congress to reaffirm federal pesticide pre-emption on labeling and packaging. Failing to do so, the groups warn, could hold disastrous consequences for food security, the environment, public health, vital infrastructure and other uses where pesticides provide important societal benefits. The letter, which ... Read More »