Spend more on food and ag research Congress perennially recognizes the long-term payoff from agricultural research but repeatedly fails to adequately fund the work in the near term, said Kathleen Merrigan, who served as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture during the Obama era. During a panel discussion on the future of… Continue reading

(AG Insider) It was a small round object sent around the planet, and it changed the course of human history. Call it “Spudnik.” It was a potato. On Columbus Day, the country commemorates the grand global changes — discoveries and destruction alike — that unfolded after Christopher Columbus linked the… Continue reading

Farm bill’s default reference price hikes could add billions to subsidy costs Almost every farm in the country will benefit from a more generous trigger for crop subsidy payments in the years ahead if Congress does nothing more than extend the current farm law, said associate professor Jonathan Coppess of… Continue reading

Signs of softening farmland values Although farmland values are strong, some ag bankers report a downturn in prices in the central Plains after a three-year run-up in values, said senior economist Cortney Cowley of the Kansas City Federal Reserve on Wednesday. The majority of bankers, however, expect farmland values to… Continue reading

Corn and soy growers take a step back from cover crops Fewer of America’s large-scale corn and soybean farmers are planting cover crops this year than last, and nobody says they’re doing it to lock carbon in the soil, said a Purdue University survey on Tuesday. Cover crops, long promoted… Continue reading

Farm bill should offer three months of paid family leave The farm bill is America’s rural agenda and should include a system of paid family and medical leave, said the Democrat-leaning One Country Project on Monday. The program would guarantee three months of paid leave per year and be financed… Continue reading

House rejects USDA-FDA funding bill The House rejected the USDA-FDA funding bill for this fiscal year by a 46-vote margin driven partly by the bill’s proposed ban on mail-order and over-the-counter sale of an abortion drug to people holding a prescription. USDA-FDA funding could become part of a long-term government… Continue reading

Climate mitigation gets $3 billion boost at USDA More than $3 billion in USDA cost-sharing funds will be available to producers and foresters for climate mitigation projects in the fiscal year that begins this Sunday, the Agriculture Department said on Thursday. U.S. accuses Agri Stats of illegally sharing meat company… Continue reading

Defense bill may be route for limiting foreign farmland ownership Although two senators identified the farm bill as a potential way to restrict foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow said on Wednesday that the annual defense authorization act seemed a better bet. Senators added language… Continue reading

Farm bill deliberations may stretch into 2024 Congress could be even later than expected in completing the new farm bill, said two farm policy experts during a webinar on Tuesday, four days before the current law expires. House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders are now aiming for passage of the… Continue reading