Articles by Philip Brasher

U.S. Farmers are expected to cut their planting of most major crops in response to sagging commodity prices, but growers will benefit from falling fuel prices and transportation costs, according to the Agriculture Department.

The House voted to make permanent the expired Section 179 expensing allowance, but the popular tax break is likely headed to another temporary extension. Democrats and the White House insist that Republicans find a way to pay for the permanent incentive.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to put the House on record urging President Obama to step in and end a labor dispute snarling West Coast ports if the union doesn't reach an agreement soon with the port operators.

Outbreaks linked to raw milk have increased sharply as the unpasteurized product has grown in popularity, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new study released Thursday says droughts in the latter half of this century are likely to be more severe than even the decades-long  megadroughts  that hit the Southwest and central Plains during Medieval times    an unprecedented fundamental climate shift. 

A bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline is headed to President Barack Obama for a certain veto after getting final congressional approval in the House on Thursday.

Leading conservative groups are backing an effort by congressional critics of the crop insurance program to eliminate premium subsidies for the popular harvest-price revenue policies.

The White House is threatening to veto a House bill that would make permanent the Section 179 expensing allowance that is widely used by farmers to buy tractors and other agricultural equipment.

Despite new government subsidies, U.S. farm income will drop by nearly one-third this year because of the plunge in the price of corn, milk and other commodities, the Agriculture Department says. USDA@s Economics Research Services estimated Tuesday that net farm inc

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will testify before the House Committee on Agriculture about farm bill signup and other issues in our Washington Week Ahead preview. Clean Water Act, tax extenders, appropriations also in focus.