Federal

Agricultural producers and landowners can now sign up soon for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a cornerstone conservation program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a key tool in the Biden-Harris Administration effort to address climate change and achieve other natural resource benefits. The General CRP sign-up runs from Jan. 31 to March 11, and the Grassland CRP sign-up will ... Read More »

From NBC News Scott Potmesil, a fourth-generation farmer who raises cattle in Sandhills, Nebraska, recently bought a John Deere tractor that is over 25 years old. He said he purposely went looking for the older device in 2020 because he believed it would be easier to repair than newer models, which can often be fixed only by authorized dealerships. “I ... Read More »

Recently, 28 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai requesting the administration pursue a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against India’s domestic support for rice and wheat production. The U.S. has previously highlighted India’s noncompliance through counternotifications at the WTO Committee on ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee on Friday submitted a list of recommendations to administrator Michael Regan on the intended revision of the definition of Waters of the United States. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From agriculture.com The economy will be fine. Be afraid. Don’t worry about inflation – it’s not that big of a deal. A recession is coming. If you feel like your head is spinning, so did the 900 or so attendees at the 2022 Land Investment Expo in Des Moines on Jan. 1. Economist Alan Beaulieu, the president of ITR Economics, ... Read More »

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 »