Ag Policy
NASDA members, the state commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture, have announced the chosen five issues to serve as the organization’s primary policy focus for 2024.
Current Death Tax relief is set to expire at the end of 2025, and it is vital that Congress acts soon and provide permanent relief for family operations.
In October 2023, Arkansas became the first state to ban foreign-owned farmland. More states look to adopt similar laws, but one policy expert says the issue is rooted in politics and warns of unintended consequences.
From drought issues posing problems in the Panama Canal to growing tensions and attacks in the Red Sea, it’s causing freight rates to skyrocket and ongoing delays in shipping products around the globe.
Historic funding will support wildland firefighters, reduce the risk of future wildfires, and advance fire recovery.
From the election to world trade, as well as geopolitical factors that have the potential to shape agriculture in 2024, the December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows the possibility of several economic surprises.
The first wolves were released in a voter-approved reintroduction project that sharpened the ideological divide between Colorado’s rural and urban residents.
The House of Representatives passed the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act on Tuesday. It will help fight illicit use of the product in humans while preserving access to the drug for animals.
COP28’s decision to not include food and agriculture as a way to meet climate goals was influenced by a request from the G77 group of developing countries for additional review related to agriculture and food.
Some Republican House and Senate members have expressed their concerns to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, particularly regarding the new payment formula used for ERP in 2022.
Sen. Josh Hawley introduces the Protecting Interstate Commerce for Livestock Producers Act to protect farmers from costly regulations – made in other states – that will hurt their business and drive-up consumer costs.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) praised Congress for passing a government funding package that includes a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.
NCBA has repeatedly raised concerns with USDA over Paraguay’s history of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and the outdated information used to justify Paraguay’s access to the U.S. market.
An extension of the current farm bill is now a reality. House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders were able to extend the current legislation as a possible government shutdown looms.
The debate over immigration continues to be an issue in Washington. However, the Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows economists are still skeptical it’s enough for Congress to act on immigration reform.
Political unrest, a healthy ag economy and the start of an election year. These are all reasons economists in the October Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor think it could 2025 before Congress passes a new farm bill.
While the U.S. and EU aim to make progress during an upcoming summit, reaching a final agreement is uncertain. This issue has significant implications for U.S./EU ties, climate goals, and geopolitics.
Work by the House or Senate Agriculture Committee on a new farm bill is essentially stalled, Randy Russell tells AgriTalk’s Chip Flory. Russell says that could be the case until government funding issues are resolved.
Virginia Tech received a record $80 million grant from USDA to help farmers implement climate-smart practices that could significantly reduce greenhouse gasses.
While ag economists continue to be at odds when it comes to the likelihood of a recession in the U.S., some doubt the country’s biggest importers will be able to avoid a recession over the next 18 months.
With the government funding in place for now, work on a new farm bill can continue, with the same questions (timing, funding, Title 1 reform, etc.) still being unanswered.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming rejected a proposal on Wednesday that would have barred USDA from operating commodity checkoff programs.
130 ag and forestry group urge congress to reject an anti-checkoff amendment to legislation that funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The Agricultural Security Risk Review Act would add the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment, an interagency committee that reviews the national security impact of foreign investments.
As brent crude futures soar toward $100, it’s creating a new battle in the Federal Reserve’s effort to fight inflation. One money manager warns another rate hike is likely.
The Livestock Consolidation Research Act would direct a study on the impact of livestock industry consolidation, and a report about how this has affected new market entrants, access to resources and purchasing power.
China’s GDP growth could possibly drop lower than the U.S. this year. In fact, fewer and fewer sectors are healthy, and only then by direct government intervention.
USDA on Thursday lowered expectations for both ag exports and imports in FY 2023. The export decline is linked to corn and wheat, while the import decline is correlated with easing prices.
A half-century after Richard Nixon signed it into law, the Endangered Species Act now has a user manual to help farmers, thanks to the National Agricultural Law Center.
Waters of the U.S. rules have evolved many times in the past 50 years. EPA announced another round of changes on Tuesday, following a May Supreme Court ruling that required EPA to revise the definition.