Federal

From the Capital Press Over the last three years we’ve learned to be cautious with our optimism on matters of trade. But, it looks as though there was some positive movement on that front last week. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the Williston Herald Expanded loss coverage in WHIP+, $1.5 billion in additional disaster funds, and more sugar beet assistance are among features of a $23.4 billion ag appropriations bill for discretionary funding of food and farm programs. Read the rest of the article. Read More »

From Progressive Farmer China and the U.S. reached a preliminary agreement on the first phase of a trade deal that includes increased purchases of U.S. agricultural products, although the amount wasn’t specified. Read the rest of the article here. 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 encouraged by news today that the United States and China have agreed on the text of a “Phase One” trade deal that apparently would roll back tariffs and re-open China’s important market for U.S. agricultural imports. ... Read More »

Editor’s note: Benton County wheat grower Nicole Berg was one of the participants on this trip. From U.S. Wheat Associates Of the more than 1.9 million metric tons (MMT) of international food commodities the United States donated in 2018/19, more than 800,000 MMT of it was high-quality milling wheat. Given the important role U.S. agriculture plays in supporting the neediest ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates Today’s signing of the renegotiated U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a welcome step toward a final agreement that will provide much needed reassurance for wheat growers and the entire U.S. agricultural industry. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) want to thank U.S. ... Read More »

From the USDA Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is opening signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on Dec. 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is Feb. 28, 2020, while signup for continuous CRP is ongoing. Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive a yearly rental ... Read More »

By Trista Crossley One of the break-out sessions at the 2019 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention last month took a look at what’s happening on the policy front at the national level. Presented by Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), and Josh Tonsager, NAWG vice president of policy and communications, the presentation covered NAWG’s role; production ... Read More »

From DTN Jason Henderson, director of Purdue University Extension and former Federal Reserve economist, is tired of talking about the 1980s. “Where we’re at in the ag business cycle, it’s not the ’80s,” he told a national meeting of agriculture lenders. “In my mind, we’re smack dab in the middle of the 1990s and the long plateau.” Read the rest ... Read More »

From the Capital Press We have been skeptical that there could be Congressional approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, before next year’s election given the great partisan divide between the White House and Congressional Democrats. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »