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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Thursday, April 10, 2025
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2017 - Senate Democrats pushed Agriculture Department officials Thursday to support increased funding to boost rural economic development and fight the opioid crisis. USDA officials also were urged to work within the administration to expand rural broadband access.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2017 - As lawmakers are preparing to write the next farm bill, they're strapped for the cash they need to cover a long list of demands. One source of money is to require farmers to update their crop base acreage, which determines what they receive in commodity payments, but the idea would face significant political challenges.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2017 - University of Illinois experts say lawmakers should consider using the next farm bill to lift restrictions that may discourage farmers from planting cover crops to reduce soil erosion.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2017 - A coalition of environmental groups, joined by the National Farmers Union and National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, want Congress to tighten enforcement of conservation compliance, increase spending on conservation programs and revise crop insurance rules to encourage more farmers to plant cover crops.
WASHINGTON, September 27, 2017 - Electric cooperatives are stepping in to aid rural communities with the increasingly essential infrastructure need of internet access, according to a recent CoBank report which says the co-ops are filling in to provide broadband services to consumers in unserved areas of the country.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2017 - Farmers and ranchers would like to see a new farm bill “sooner rather than later,” says Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, but he is still in the process of listening to members and various interest groups, while waiting for final budget numbers.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2017 - Some 86 percent of U.S. crop acreage is covered by federal crop insurance, a 3 percent increase from 2011, but the Risk Management Agency sees additional market potential for vegetables and livestock producers.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2017 - The Justice Department is investigating a "significant number" of states for allegedly hiding mistakes in food-stamp payments to win millions in federal performance bonuses, senators were told Thursday.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 - As Congress prepares to write a new farm bill, analysts are raising questions about the Price Loss Coverage program and the fairness of its price guarantees.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2017 — Bowing to requests from the dairy industry, USDA says it will allow milk producers to opt out of the Margin Protection Program for 2018.