Ag Policy
Former President Donald Trump placed tariffs on more than $300 billion in Chinese goods during his presidency, raising costs for American companies, according to the ITC.
The House last week has already passed its WOTUS rule resolution and it’s up for a Senate vote. The White House has pledged a veto of the measure, should it reach President Joe Biden’s desk.
“It would be a lost opportunity if we just sit on the sidelines and watch other countries engage while the playing field continues to tilt against us,” said Rep. Smith (R-Neb.).
To put cover crop investments in motion, NRCS would draw on federal, state and private conservationists to hire “thousands” of employees for rural America.
Closing the meat labeling “loophole,” Justin Tupper with the United States Cattlemen’s Association shares his thoughts on the recent USDA update to voluntary labeling standards and what it means for cattle producers.
“The prioritization of resource concerns must be left to the local level where producers decide how they can best address their unique and varied landscapes and needs,” said Sen. John Boozman.
“In this current situation, the traditional approach to free trade agreements — which isn’t just tariff cuts, but that they do tariff cuts on a fully comprehensive basis — isn’t what we need right now,” Tai says.
SNAP, which historically receives the greatest amount of farm bill funding, will see an 82% increase of a quarter-trillion-dollars.
“There are so many legislators in policy-making that are unaware of the issues in rural veterinary medicine and rural agriculture today,” says Dr. Jody Kull, owner of Valley Mobile Veterinary Service, Danville, Pa.
“Over the long term, our projections suggest that changes in fiscal policy must be made to address the rising costs of interest and mitigate other adverse consequences of high and rising debt,” CBO Director Swagel said
The House will take the reins in writing farm bill 2023. House Ag Chairman Thompson says the pen is “firmly” in his hand, with few tweaks to be made from 2018. The Senate says their version is nearly complete.
A Senate Ag Committee hearing Thursday on the new farm bill raised a issue that is now evident: the Title 1 farm bill safety net can no longer deal with the current ag environment.
USDA’s first official net farm income forecast shows an expected 16% drop in 2023 net farm income, largely due to a decline in commodity prices and government payments with higher expenses and costs at the farm level.
The price surge comes as Europe announced a ban on Russian diesel fuel and G7 countries vowed to price-cap Russian oil products.
On Thursday, Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Tester (D-Mont.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) reintroduced the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act in the 118th Congress.
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Alexis Taylor for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. According to Taylor, her priorities include addressing export markets and food insecurity.
With Republicans now in control of the House, Rep. RandyFeenstra (R-Iowa) said he wants to introduce legislation shielding the stepped-up basis and like-kind exchanges.
“It’s a mystery as to why the USDA began to hide the names of many recipients,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs for the Environmental Working Group.
The revamped foods program would absorb the functions of Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Office of Food Policy and Response, as well as some of the work of the Office of Regulatory Affairs.
According to USDA, the pilot will mirror the working library that was shared with stakeholders in 2022 but will now contain active contracts.
Vilsack said USDA believes there are more options for farmers other than “get big or get out. There’s got to be a system in which the many and most have a fair shot.”
Reps. Dusty Johnson and Jim Costa on Tuesday introduced the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking (SHIP IT) Act to expand the trucking workforce and offer flexibility in times of need.
For example, Rep. Ralph Norman in the past unsuccessfully pushed crop insurance amendments that would have cut premium incentives/subsidies by 15% for producers with specified adjusted gross incomes.
Some legislative officials have discussed the possibility that the Treasury could use an obscure law authorizing platinum coins to circumvent Congress if lawmakers don’t raise the debt ceiling.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced $40 million in funding to help complete Phase 2 of Iowa State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Here’s why it matters to all of animal agriculture.
Farm Bureau’s Duvall says the rule puts farmers and ranchers in a position where they will have to hire lawyers and consultants to establish the boundaries of farming.
Sen. Anderson introduced a resolution last Friday aimed at phasing out electric vehicle sales in Wyoming by 2035. The resolution was referred to the state’s minerals committee, who tabled it until 2024.
!["There's no cure for any of it [HPAI, FMD and ASF]," Bacus says. "The best thing we could hope to do is track and vaccinate our way out of it."](https://assets.farmjournal.com/dims4/default/048af1e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/640x428+0+26/resize/250x167!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffj-corp-pub.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fs3fs-public%2Flivestock_trucks-trailer_%283%29.JPG)
Under the rule, APHIS would require tags that are both visually and electronically readable for interstate movement of cattle and bison six months after a final rule is published in the Federal Register.
Speaker McCarthy agreed that the House wouldn’t lift the debt ceiling unless Congress slashes federal spending next fiscal year. Because of this, Bank of America is telling clients to expect a debt default this fall.
If the nation’s debt hits $31.4 trillion—it’s on track to do so by this Thurs.—the Treasury will need to take “extraordinary measures” to help pay the government’s operations and ward off a historic default.