Federal

From agweb.com The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Convention in underway in Atlanta this week, and as Phase One agreement with China is now expired, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to members in-person, assuring farmers and ranchers the White House will push China to make up for the $16 billion shortfall in trade. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

The National Wheat Foundation (NWF) is pleased to announce that it is accepting grower enrollment for the 2022 National Wheat Yield Contest! The contest is divided into two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated. The 2022 National Wheat Yield Contest will add a new quality component. The 24 yield winners’ wheat will ... Read More »

Elections and enrollment for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2022 crop year began on Oct. 18, 2021, and will run through March 15, 2022. The 2018 Farm Bill allows for changes to the farm election for 2022. Any producers wishing to make changes to the farm election must obtain signatures from all ... Read More »

More than 100 national agricultural organizations, regional/state organizations and companies have signed onto a letter to Pres. Joe Biden, authored by the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG), expressing support for the Columbia-Snake River System. “On behalf of the undersigned organizations representing farmers and businesses across the agricultural value chain, we write to express our strong support for preserving the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Congressional Republicans, a pesticide maker and foreign trading partners are joining U.S. farmers in asking the Environmental Protection Agency to rescind its pending ban of chlorpyrifos. Meanwhile, labor, environmental and anti-pesticide groups are pressing the EPA to follow through and prohibit chlorpyrifos residue on food on Feb. 28. In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, ... Read More »

From agweb.com The supply chain constraints are continuing to plague agriculture, and as farmers work to make input decisions for the 2022 season, economists expect high input prices to persist through spring. One major reason for the severe supply chain constraints is China, as nearly 75% of the active ingredients and crop protection chemicals comes from China. Read the rest ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The government of Vietnam will eliminate a 3% tariff on U.S. wheat imports effective Dec. 30. The Southeast Asia nation was the lone remaining Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership country applying a tariff on U.S. wheat imports but not on those from Canadian and Australian wheat. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From agweb.com When Mike Estadt talks with Ohio farmers using no-till and cover crops who want to participate in carbon markets, he often tells them they are unlikely to qualify for those opportunities. “These are farmers who’ve been in no-till for 20 or 30 years, and they’ve probably sequestered all the carbon that they can,” says Estadt, Ohio State University ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Today, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) into law. The $1.2 trillion package not only reauthorizes the surface transportation programs for five years, but also makes a $550 billion investment on top of existing programs. While significant investments in infrastructure have long been elusive, the Infrastructure Investment and ... Read More »

From agriculture.com Driving the rural highways of Illinois reveals mile after mile of corn, soybeans, and wheat. Recently I traveled to California and was driving on a long highway in the central part of that state. It was similar to the highways in my home state of Illinois, flat with small towns scattered along the way. However, the only crops ... Read More »