Articles by Bill Tomson

USDA has provided lawmakers with some estimates of what producers need in disaster assistance this year.

Worries of a possible rail strike have been growing in Washington amid ongoing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

Bipartisan agreement on the need for the U.S. and Taiwan to strengthen ties through a trade pact was on display Wednesday at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing, although Republican lawmakers were mostly critical of the Biden administration’s decision not to negotiate a traditional free trade agreement that requires approval from Congress.

The Biden administration is taking a major step today in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

The potential for increased trade with India is substantial, but the country has refused to commit to the trade pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and some in the U.S. ag sector are pessimistic about changing the country’s direction.

A new executive order from President Joe Biden calls on departments and agencies to take steps to increase the use of bio-based products and identify barriers to agricultural biotechnology.

The USDA Monday cut its forecast for U.S. soybean yields and production in its monthly crop report, catching the market by surprise and sending futures prices higher.

It’s a big week around the nation’s capital with hearings scheduled examining several issues important to agriculture, including rail service delays and a proposal to require companies to track the greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chains.

India, an international ag trading powerhouse that often comes into friction with the U.S. over tariff and nontariff barriers, is the only Indo-Pacific Economic Framework country out of 14 not participating in the pact’s trade pillar after a major summit held in Los Angeles this week, according to government officials.

Lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill have spent the past couple of years working to rein in the market power of the four largest beef packers. But time may well have run out on two major reform bills.