We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Terms and Cookie Policy
Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, March 09, 2025
Donald Trump has reclaimed the presidency, and Republicans will take charge of the Senate in January. Those results have big implications for a lot of issues, including trade and immigration as well as tax and regulatory policy that are critical to agriculture.
Some 16 Republican senators are calling on congressional leaders to move legislation that would freeze the adverse effect wage rate for H-2A workers at 2023 levels.
The average age of farmers today is 58, setting up a need to adopt new government policies to attract and retain new farmers and protect the agricultural industry’s ability to meet growing world food needs.
Interest in agrivoltaics is increasing as the practice is seen as a potential solution to competing land use, and a bipartisan pair of senators is pushing for new research funding in the next farm bill.
House Republicans proposed a plan Wednesday for raising the federal debt ceiling that would also expand work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to able-bodied adults as old as 55.
The seed industry is stressing the need for more public funding to augment resources from the private sector, not just for research but for aging infrastructure at land-grant universities, as Congress prepares to start work on the farm bill next year.
The Biden administration is planning to use the upcoming international climate conference to promote the potential of agriculture to make food production more resilient. And in that vein, two House Agriculture subcommittees are holding a hearing today that will feature supporters of the use of biotechnology to improve agricultural productivity.
A bill that would lay the groundwork for ag carbon markets by putting USDA in charge of certifying farm advisers and credit verifiers won easy Senate approval Thursday in a defeat for some progressives and fossil fuel advocates on opposite sides of the climate issue.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is making it increasingly clear that he’s going to make it a priority to challenge the market power of big food processors and ag input suppliers. How far he ultimately goes remains to be seen. But he’s getting plenty of encouragement from both sides of Capitol Hill.
Jewel Bronaugh, the first African-American woman nominated to serve as deputy secretary of agriculture, sailed through her confirmation hearing as she pledged to work closely with senators on issues affecting the nation’s producers.
