Trump’s midterm campaign map mostly omits Midwest North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a farm bill negotiator, is a White House target for defeat in the mid-term elections. But President Trump will generally steer clear of the Midwest and races involving other members of the Senate Agriculture Committee during his upcoming… Continue reading
Dicamba takes a toll again on neighboring fields, say weed specialists Monsanto proudly says its low-volatility formulations of dicamba, coupled with cotton and soybean varieties genetically modified to tolerate doses of the herbicide, are an effective tool against invasive weeds. But weed scientists report that damage to neighboring fields and… Continue reading
Top Republicans in House and Senate press on SNAP work requirements A small group of negotiators will write the final version of the $87-billion-a-year farm bill in the weeks ahead, and they are under pressure from high-ranking conservatives in Congress to require millions of people to work at least 20… Continue reading
A new fish bill could hurt marine management Republicans claim the House version of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, a.k.a. the fish bill, would strike “a proper balance between the biological needs of fish stocks and the economic needs of fishermen.” Environmentalists disagree. As the fight moves to the Senate, the House… Continue reading
Wheeler ‘working very hard’ on year-round E15, says Grassley Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is “working very hard to find a solution” for the year-round sale of E15, said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley on a conference call with reporters Wednesday. Grassley also said that an earlier proposal that would allow refiners… Continue reading
Wanted: Office space in a city with a ‘critical mass of intellectual capacity’ The Agriculture Department is willing to go far into the countryside to find office space for two agencies that it wants to move out of Washington. The new headquarters must have robust internet service, a “critical mass… Continue reading
Farm bill negotiators prodded to resolve SNAP work rules With the Senate returning early from its August recess, a panorama of farm, conservation, ag retailer, insurer, lender and anti-hunger groups said on Monday that urban and rural America needs prompt passage of the 2018 farm bill. California avoids the SNAP snafu engulfing… Continue reading
New buyers elusive, U.S. builds a mountain of soybeans U.S. farmers will reap a record-large soybean crop in the middle of a trade war with China, ordinarily the No. 1 export customer for the most widely grown U.S. crop, with no replacement buyer on the horizon. House Ag chairman was… Continue reading
Perdue takes control of USDA’s economics agency The Economic Research Service, the USDA’s self-described “honest broker of economic information,” is being placed under the control of the agency’s top political appointee, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. The move, announced on Thursday, would make the ERS part of the office of Perdue’s chief… Continue reading
Produce safety rule will weigh heaviest on small growers The smallest fruit and vegetable growers will pay comparatively more than big operators to comply with the so-called Produce Rule from the FDA — as much as 6.8 percent of their sales compared with less than 1 percent for big farmers,… Continue reading
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