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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Friday, August 16, 2024
Senators will open the new year welcoming two new Democratic colleagues and facing some major unfinished business, including a House-passed disaster bill that includes new assistance for cotton and dairy producers.
Prospects this week for passing farm bill fixes sought by cotton and dairy producers dimmed as House Republicans wrangled over a disaster aid bill, and a top Senate Democrat raised objections to the agriculture measures.
In a development with major implications for the next farm bill, House Republicans inserted provisions in a $81 billion disaster aid package to make cotton growers eligible for the Price Loss Coverage Program and expand an insurance program for dairy producers.
President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to pull the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement have kept the U.S. ag sector on edge for months, and farm sector leaders are expressing concern that Trump may have no intention of allowing the current NAFTA negotiations to succeed.
When Rep. Collin Peterson recently traveled home to his rural western Minnesota district, he opened his briefing by telling farmers that the number one thing to get done in a new farm bill is to help cotton producers. The livestock, corn, soy, wheat and sugar beet producers – who are thousands of miles from a cotton field - seemed a bit perplexed.
Lawmakers return to Washington next week facing a battle over tax cuts and the possibility of a government shutdown, if they can’t agree on a budget for the rest of the fiscal year.
Milk producers such as Jerry Messer say they’ve had it with many food companies’ marketing practices, such as labeling foods in ways that disparage GMOs or using the term “milk” for plant-based beverages.
Can manure be regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act? Nearly three years ago, a federal judge said yes, it can be, in a ruling that cast a spotlight on how the dairy industry manages its waste.
A series of pending decisions from USDA and Congress over coming weeks could leave milk producers with a significantly stronger new financial safety net, if the actions fall the way the industry hopes.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2017 – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer isn’t ready to throw in the towel on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, but he expressed sharp disappointment Tuesday with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts for not accepting some U.S. proposals.