Sara Wyant

When commodity prices were hitting record highs a couple of years ago, farm bill critics often made the case that it was finally time to make deep spending cuts or eliminate farm subsidies altogether

Not everyone who graced the stage at the Iowa State Fairgrounds was asked the same question, but moderator Bruce Rastetter did a great job making sure they responded to several key issues, while limiting each one to about 20 minutes. HereÐs an overview of how they answered.

Eliminating the Harvest Price Option (HPO) in crop insurance would leave growers without some key income protection when a severe drought drives up market prices but leaves producers with little to sell, says Art Barnaby, a Kansas State University economist who helped develop the p

USDA finally announced a proposed rule Ð authorized in the 2014 farm bill - to limit farm payments to people who are Ðactively engagedÐ in farming, potentially closing a loophole in non-family farm businesses that allows some larger joint ventures and general partnership

USDA reduced its fiscal 2015 forecast for agricultural exports to $140.5 billion and cut its estimate of imports to $117 billion, which would still be the highest ever.

USDA says conservation compliance deadline probably won't be extended.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has long emphasized providing assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers and once suggested a goal of adding 100,000 new farmers by 2012.

Wind energy already provides nearly 5% of the nationps total electricity generation, but there is tremendous potential to expand production across all 50 states by embracing taller wind turbines, larger rotors, and other technical innovations.

Vermont�s effort to identify foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been billed as a �no-strings attached� labeling law. Simple. Straightforward.

Specialty crop growers who purchase crop insurance are increasingly concerned that the forms they filed to meet new conservation compliance requirements are not being processed by USDA staff.