Articles by Philip Brasher

The Trump administration is paving the way toward potentially restarting the economy in some areas of the country.

The State Department agreed to accelerate approvals of H-2A farm workers by waiving interviews for many applicants, a move welcomed by agricultural groups who feared that embassy cutbacks amid the COVID-19 pandemic would leave farms without needed labor.

The $2 trillion Phase 3 stimulus package that passed the Senate late Wednesday night has a lot for ag, but not everyone thinks the sector is getting what will be needed for 2020. Starting with USDA.

Congressional leaders have reached agreement on a $2 trillion economic rescue package that would replenish the Agriculture Department’s Commodity Credit Corp. authority and earmark additional money for livestock and specialty crop producers as well as local agriculture.

A leading architect of the ag programs in the $2 trillion economic stimulus package says he expects USDA could use the funding it gets through the bill to provide several forms of relief to producers beyond a new Market Facilitation Program.

Fruit and vegetable farmers and their distributors are losing billions of dollars as restaurants and other buyers shut down and the government needs to step in, according to a new plea from the industry that traditionally shies away from government assistance.

Producers’ support for President Donald Trump has grown despite sluggish exports and their own worries about their financial condition as the economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 has developed, according to the latest Agri-Pulse poll of U.S. farmers and ranchers.

A massive economic stimulus bill that congressional leaders are rushing to finish could allow the Agriculture Department to provide multiple forms of aid to different sectors hit by the coronavirus epidemic as well as a fresh round of Market Facilitation Program payments, a key senator says.

Farm groups have been nervously watching the high-stakes talks on a massive economic stimulus package between congressional leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The massive economic stimulus package being considered on Capitol Hill could open the door to another round of Market Facilitation Program payments as well as other emergency aid to farmers.