Federal

From the National Association of Wheat Growers On July 25, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced details of its latest $16 billion in aid to offset trade damages, including another round of market facilitation program (MFP) payments of $14.5 billion for farmers who are being impacted by the current trade war with China. Payment rates are set at a ... Read More »

From farmers.gov Assistance for non-specialty crops is based on a single-county payment rate multiplied by a farm’s total plantings of MFP-eligible crops in aggregate in 2019. Those per-acre payments are not dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019. A producer’s total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total 2018 plantings. County payment rates range from $15 to $150 per ... Read More »

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the $16 billion package aimed at supporting American agricultural producers while the administration continues to work on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals. In May, President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a relief strategy in line with the estimated impacts of unjustified retaliatory ... Read More »

One of the more significant changes in the 2018 Farm Bill was the establishment of a new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Grassland Conservation Initiative as a way to save money in the commodity title of the farm bill. In short, certain base acres that have not been planted to a commodity crop a nine-year period will not be eligible for ... Read More »

From the Farm Service Agency A new online tool can help farmers and ranchers find information on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm loans that may best fit their operations. USDA has launched the new Farm Loan Discovery Tool as the newest feature on farmers.gov, the department’s self-service website for farmers. “Access to credit is critical in the agriculture industry, ... Read More »

By Randy Suess Many people have done a fine job explaining why removing the lower Snake River dams would hurt our farm economy and really not accomplish the goal of restoring the number of Southern Resident Killer Whales (orcas). There are a couple of issues that I believe need to be covered to help people understand that we need those ... Read More »

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced an update on the implementation status of the 2018 Farm Bill. President Trump signed this Farm Bill into law on Dec. 20, 2018, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) promptly began implementing key programs. In addition, USDA held several listening sessions with stakeholders and the ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Nearly 1,000 groups representing the U.S. food and agriculture value chain at the national, state and local levels have called on Congress to support the ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In a letter sent to Congress, the groups reiterate that USMCA will benefit the U.S. agriculture and food industry while providing consumers ... Read More »

From U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) are aware that USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the discovery of genetically engineered (GE) wheat plants growing in an unplanted agricultural field in Washington State. APHIS says the GE wheat in question ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) are shocked and dismayed by President Donald Trump’s unilateral step to impose a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods imported by the United States. This action threatens to undermine approval of the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and ... Read More »