Articles by Steve Davies

Some results from Tuesday’s primaries hold implications for ag policy.

Makers of adjuvants and inerts that are added to pesticide active ingredients to improve their performance need to keep a close eye on the growing number losing patent protection in the next few years, speakers told attendees at last week’s conference of the Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology.

Farmers are catching up fast on planting, although there continue to be significant delays in North Dakota and Minnesota affecting both corn and spring wheat.

A “stunning” and “dangerous” shift in U.S. policy toward pesticide labeling “poses great risks to our science-based regulatory system and global food systems,” dozens of commodity and other ag groups assert in a letter asking the Biden administration to withdraw a recently filed brief in the Supreme Court.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Cory Booker is calling on the White House to reject any effort by the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on plant-based beverages that use the term “milk.”

Members of the House Agriculture Committee are reviewing USDA input on the Senate-passed Growing Climate Solutions Act and modifications suggested by the panel’s top Republican, Glenn “GT” Thompson.

USDA has a daunting task as it seeks to pick the winners for one of the biggest ag lotteries ever: the $1 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, whose first round of funding drew more than 450 proposals seeking $3 billion to $4 billion.

Farmers have made significant progress in planting corn over the past week but remain well behind the pace in many areas, according to USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report.

USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report, due out this afternoon, will tell traders and policymakers whether farmers are starting to catch up on planting during a year when U.S. crops will be especially important to global food supplies.

Farmers are struggling this spring with sky-high production costs, but the bigger concern is whether there will be enough fertilizer and other inputs to go around for next season