Ag Policy
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing to list the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act. The chicken’s habitat spans parts of five states, including Colorado, Kansas and Texas.
Demand for pork and grains is helping propel prices in 2021, and USDA is forecasting it to be a record year.
The EPA and Department of the Army announced a plan on Wednesday to initiate a new rulemaking process to restore the protections that were in place prior to the 2015 WOTUS implementation.
USDA will begin work on three proposed rules to support enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, a 100-year-old law designed to protect producers from unfair, and anti-competitive practices in meat markets.
Less than two weeks after JBS was hit with a cyberattack impacting operations in Australia and North America, Congress is now calling on JBS to provide documents and communications related to the May 30 attack.
A federal judge announced Friday a decision to halt payments in a USDA loan forgiveness program designed to help farmers of color. USDA has until Friday to respond to the court’s temporary restraining order.
Talks between Argentine policymakers and meat industry officials are on track to reach a deal on re-opening exports, officials said, days ahead of the expiration of the government’s month-long suspension of shipments.
“I like to say you’re going to have to have a permit to do normal farming decisions,” he told Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk.
Calls from Congress to address issues within the cattle markets continue. The Senate Ag Committee announcing a June 23 hearing to examine markets, transparency and prices from cattle producers to consumers.
Senators Tester (D-MT), Grassley (R-IA), and Rounds (R-SD) have introduced legislation that would amend the Packers and Stockyards Act to establish the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters.
Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler introduced the Optimizing the Cattle Market Act of 2021 in the U.S. House. If enacted, the bill would direct USDA to build a cattle formula contracts library.
USDA announced plans to invest more than $4 billion to strengthen critical supply chains through the Build Back Better initiative. Funding is provided by the American Rescue Plan Act and earlier pandemic assistance.
Argentine meat producers will intensify talks with the government aimed at lifting the one-month suspension of beef exports that was declared in mid-May, the country’s Agroindustrial Council (CAA) said in a statement.
After a thorough review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list two distinct population segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
An unprecedented meeting held early this month among major cattle industry representatives has now produced plans for change. It’s happening while a group of U.S. lawmakers are also asking the DOJ for answers.
Inflation concerns are heating up as fresh data from the Labor Department shows U.S. consumer prices have risen more than 4% over the past year, marking the sharpest increase since 2008.
Restaurants closing early. Sign after sign plastered along roadsides with businesses looking for help. The hiring issue is crippling everything from manufacturing to the restaurant industry today.
The plan is now called “America the Beautiful,” and is a 10 year, locally-led and voluntary nationwide effort to conserve, connect and restore 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by the year 2030.
The federal government is facing another lawsuit over The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. A group of farmers from five states claim they’re ineligible for loan forgiveness program because they’re white.
Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller has filed a personal lawsuit against the federal government claiming COVID relief plan discriminates against some white farmers and ranchers.
Secretary Vilsack flatly denied there is any effort by President Biden to reduce meat consumption to meet proposed cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. “Sometimes in the political world, games get played,” he said.
Ryan Yates, managing director of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), says while the plan sounds simple, there are still a lot more questions than answers regarding what the plan truly means.
On a day when U.S. corn futures went limit-up on supply and demand concerns, Washington talked about idling millions of additional lands via various programs.
John Holland at Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, urged President Biden to restore the national monument without delay claiming long-term protection of the Monument’s landscapes are vital for rural communities.
Biden is introducing a plan to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. As some U.S. farmers see commodity prices hit a seven-year high, ag groups say moving land out of production may be a tough sell.
Interagency effort will coordinate resources across the federal government to bring immediate relief to irrigators, Tribes, and western communities.
Global commodity prices are expected to stay firm around current levels in 2021 after recovering in the first quarter buoyed by strong economic growth, the World Bank said on Tuesday.
Details of a U.S. land and water related executive order could be unveiled soon. Known as the ’30 by 30’ plan, it would place 30% of U.S. lands and 30% of U.S. waters under federal jurisdiction by 2030.
The western half of the country continues to see little moisture, and after a year of record government payments to agriculture, farm groups fear financial assistance this year will be tough to get passed in Washington.
New Zealand says it will stop the export of livestock by sea following a transition period of up to two years, citing animal welfare concerns, which will affect major trading partners including Australia and China.