Federal

From farmdocdaily The House Reconciliation Bill includes changes to statutory reference prices used to trigger payments from the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, as well as changes to Agricultural Risk Coverage (see farmdoc daily, May 14, 2025). We evaluate how these changes will impact Federal outlays of the six largest program crops, finding that the proposed changes, if enacted, will ... Read More »

From KUOW Back in the New Deal era, the Northwest’s mighty rivers were dammed allowing barges to cheaply bring grain from the wheat fields of eastern Washington to the coast for export. Today, at ports along the Snake River, trucks unload grain to five-storey high bins along the banks. Most barges that pull up to the terminals carry the equivalent ... Read More »

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, there were 4.7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington. Temperatures cooled across the state, and rain provided timely moisture to crops. Washington crop condition Winter wheat: 3% very poor 6% poor 13% fair 68% good 10% excellent Spring wheat: 2% very poor 4% poor 35% fair 55% good 4% excellent Barley: 1% very ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The American Farm Bureau and 11 other farm groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court to shield the Monsanto Company from lawsuits alleging glyphosate causes cancer. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s line of Roundup products, revolutionized the agricultural industry when it was introduced in 1974, the farm groups stated in a friend-of-the-court brief filed May 9. ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation have further extended the public comment period for their re-do environmental review of Columbia River systems operations to Aug. 15. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the Capital Press The Environmental Protection Agency has released a three-step framework for regulating insecticides, winning praise from farm groups, state agriculture departments and the USDA for reworking a widely criticized plan proposed last year by the Biden EPA. The EPA released its final “insecticide strategy” on April 29, one day before a court-set deadline to come up with ... Read More »

From PNW Ag Network The first 100 days of the 2nd Trump Administration have been a rollercoaster ride for the American Farmer, most notably lead by tariffs and trade wars.  The Administration has placed a variety of tariffs on some of the United States’ closest allies, China and others, leading to retaliatory tariffs.  While it has yet to be seen if this ... Read More »

From Farm Policy News Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks and Steve Davies reported Wednesday that “the Trump administration’s plan for reorganizing and downsizing USDA should be out by the middle of May, and it will likely call for consolidating some programs with other agencies, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.” Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From World-Grain.com The effects of global tariffs imposed and then placed on hold by US President Donald Trump would be wide-ranging across grain-based foods. If the threatened tariffs materialize and retaliatory actions are taken broadly by trading partners of the United States, the direct impact will be significant for segments of the grain, flour milling and baking sectors. Read the ... Read More »

From the Spokesman-Review President Donald Trump has escalated his trade war, raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% last week even as he paused some taxes on imports from other countries. But another part of his administration’s plan to compete with Beijing’s influence could hit Washington state farmers even if they don’t send their crops to China. In February, the ... Read More »