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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, September 26, 2024
An upcoming run-off election in one of the nation’s largest agricultural districts has produced a confrontation, with Texas’ colorful and controversial ag commissioner, Sid Miller, and President Donald Trump on one side, and major state and national farm groups on the other.
Amid all the uncertainty farmers are facing this spring, they're now getting hit by a drop in crop insurance price guarantees. In response, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefly raised the possibility USDA could allow producers to increase coverage.
China is still battling to contain coronavirus infections, but the U.S. ag sector is taking heart in signs that industry there is coming back to life in time for trade to resume under the “phase one” trade deal.
China has begun making policy changes and will soon be accepting applications for tariff exemptions as part of its agreements under the phase one trade pact with the U.S., the Trump administration announced Tuesday.
Japan’s Upper House approved a new trade pact with the U.S. on Wednesday, paving the way for lower tariffs on U.S. beef, almonds, walnuts, sorghum and other agricultural products early next year.
President Donald Trump and White House officials insist that China will be buying $40 billion to 50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products annually over the next couple of years, if the countries nail down a trade deal in the coming weeks, but the question is whether U.S. farmers, processors and exporters could meet that challenge.
As much as growers long for an end to the trade war with China, there are long-term threats to demand for corn, soybeans and other crops that could depress commodity prices for years to come and lead to calls for higher government spending, economists say.
The next round of high-level U.S.-China trade talks are on schedule for next month despite the White House axing Chinese plans for a key official to tour U.S. farms and processing facilities this week.
The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the insecticide sulfoxaflor for use on corn, cotton, sorghum and citrus, as well as other crops, the agency announced Friday, saying it had concluded the chemical posed no significant risk to bees and that alternatives to the chemical are worse for the environment.
Curious about how USDA came up with the payment rates for farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs resulting from the administration’s trade policies? The department today released the methodology it used to set those levels for the trade mitigation package it announced Sept. 4.
