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.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Under pressure from rural lawmakers, House Democratic leaders are expected to ensure USDA can continue making trade assistance payments to farmers after the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
House Democratic leaders are aiming to push through a stopgap spending bill this week after threatening a fight with the White House, and potentially with some of their own rural members, over a plan that could jeopardize farmers’ trade aid payments.
Crop developers say USDA’s effort to streamline its regulation of biotech crops will still slow the commercialization of many gene-edited products, but groups representing grain traders, food processors and restaurant chains are slamming the department's proposal, claiming it could lead to trade disruptions and undermine consumer confidence.
The latest version of the Trump administration’s trade assistance for farmers may provide some growers with more money than their actual losses from the ongoing trade war with China, but supporters of the aid package say it’s vital to helping many produces to survive until better times.
The Trump administration’s trade negotiations pick up this week with both China and Japan, while the Agriculture Department starts accepting applications for the latest round of trade assistance being offered to farmers as compensation for the impact of retaliatory tariffs.
The Agriculture Department overhauled its Market Facilitation Program to broaden the number of farmers that would receive the trade aid, but officials may encounter new grumbling over the wide disparities in county payment rates.
All three of the federal agencies charged with regulating bioengineered plants and animals are looking at ways of streamlining regulations and smoothing the path to commercialization for gene-edited traits.
In its latest effort to shrink enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Trump administration is proposing to remove up to 3 million people from the rolls by tightening eligibility rules that allow many states to sign up people with incomes that exceed federal limits.
The Labor Department is proposing to overhaul wage requirements and streamline the application certification process for the H-2A farmworker visa program, which is under heavy demand by growers searching for new sources of labor.
Lawmakers probe the Trump administration’s handling of agricultural research this week, while the clock ticks on a series of issues, including the fiscal 2020 budget and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
