Articles by Jim Webster

To maintain a competitive agriculture, the next administration in Washington should adopt bipartisan trade policy, reform immigration laws and pursue water and pesticide regulatory policies that acknowledge the strategic importance of food, four experts told a Farm Foundation Forum Tue

Rapid increases in productivity have more than doubled U.S. agricultural output since the end of World War II, allowing food production to keep pace with or exceed population growth. But several voices have begun to question whether productivity gains can be sustained P and som

- Fierce opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at both national political conventions last month is the newest symptom of what a leading agricultural economist has called a tougher period of trade policy. The U.S. skepticism about trade liberalizat

While the United Kingdom@s decision to withdraw from the European Union isn@t likely to have much effect on the global food system, over time it could make it more difficult for the United States and the EU to find common ground on biotechnology and other food trade issues.

Ask almost anyone in farm political circles in Washington to list the top prospect for Hillary Clinton°s agriculture secretary and the answer is often, °Tom Vilsack, if he wants to stay.°

Two days after her highly publicized appearance with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Ohio, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., delivered a little-noticed speech that just might restore the issue of competition in food and agriculture to the presidential

Livestock and poultry growers and the meat industry got a sobering warning last week from a communications expert and a pair of theologians: The vegetarian animal rights movement is prevailing in the competition for public opinion over how animals are raised and consumed.

With very large farms now producing most of the nationðs milk at dramatically lower cost than smaller, single-family operations, the challenge of designing federal dairy support policy has become more complicated, says a new report from USDAðs Economic Research Service &#

Even as land-grant agricultural schools are enrolling fewer students with a farm and ranch background today than in previous years, the demand for college graduates with the skills and knowledge for modern food and agricultural jobs is outstripping the supply, according to experts on a

Speculation about a @short list@ of potential nominees to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court must be tempered by one of Washington@s sage and frequently-repeated adages @ @Those who know don@t talk. Those who talk don@t know.@&#