Boost Conservation Reserve, hold steady on working lands assistance If Congress follows the farm bill recommendations of the Conservation Coalition, it would revive a $5-an-acre discount on crop insurance premiums for farmers who plant cover crops. The coalition, an alliance of farm, land stewardship, and environmental groups, also said on… Continue reading

Organic farmers ask for $100 million annual research funding The 2023 farm bill should gradually scale up federal funding for organic agriculture research and extension to $100 million a year, said the National Organic Coalition on Tuesday. The alliance of farm, environment and consumer groups also said the USDA should… Continue reading

Key House Democrat says ‘no way’ to SNAP cuts Congress will write the 2023 farm bill without harming SNAP, notwithstanding Republican suggestions to restrict food-stamp eligibility, said the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee on Monday. “There is no way we are going to accept any cuts in this… Continue reading

In the background for the farm bill: How many farms and what size? Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reached back to the Carter era in calling for a transformational 2023 farm bill that helps small and medium-size farmers earn more from the land rather than move to town. Secretary Bob Bergland… Continue reading

Senator warns of farm-size conflict in farm bill negotiations At the same time that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called for more attention to small and midsize farmers, who see limited revenue from agriculture, a key Southern senator cautioned on Thursday against “a small farm versus big farm conflict” in writing… Continue reading

At listening session, calls for greater farm bill funding and a stronger SNAP Congress needs to modernize the crop insurance program and update farm subsidies to reflect higher input costs and volatile commodity markets when it writes the new farm bill, said the leader of the largest U.S. farm group… Continue reading

Farm bill should expand climate-smart initiative The Biden administration has committed $3.1 billion to 141 pilot projects to develop climate-smart commodities and the new farm bill should fund additional projects, said the AGree farm policy initiative on Wednesday. In a set of farm bill priorities, AGree also said the USDA… Continue reading

Cost of fighting bird flu outbreaks tops $670 million The Agriculture Department promotes comprehensive biosecurity measures on the farm as the “best and prudent approach” to combat bird flu outbreaks that have killed 58.6 million birds in domestic flocks in 13 months. The viral disease drove up egg prices during… Continue reading

Farm finances are strong, but rise in land values slows High commodity prices supported “profit opportunities for many producers across the farm sector” ahead of the spring planting season, although there were concerns about operating expenses, higher interest rates and drought, said the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. USDA climate… Continue reading

USDA spending falls as White House envisions transformational farm bill Agriculture Department spending would fall 14 percent in the new fiscal year, due almost entirely to reduced SNAP benefits with the end of the pandemic, said the White House on Thursday. It proposed relatively modest initiatives at the USDA for… Continue reading