Fish Bill, Ag Sales, Farm Bill – September 13, 2018

Fish Bill looming

Looming renewal of ‘fish bill’ reveals industry-advocate divide More than 100 organizations submitted a letter to members of Congress on Wednesday asking them to oppose ocean aquaculture. The letter was delivered as the looming renewal of the “fish bill,” the Magnuson-Stevens Act, reveals divides between the fishing industry and environmentalists,… Continue reading

Corn Top Crop, NAFTA, Farm Bill – September 4, 2018

Ethanol Easier to sell

China trips, soybeans, corn wins race for top U.S. crop A year after making soybeans the most widely grown crop in the country, U.S. farmers will make corn king again, driven by a trade war with China and a burdensome soy stockpile, said the FAPRI think tank at the University… Continue reading

Soybeans, Farm Bill, and Trump’s Tariffs – August 29, 2018

Farm Bill, Trump Tariffs, Soybeans

Midwest scores big on Trump tariff payments; decision on second round in early December Nearly half of the $4.7 billion in Trump tariff payments will go to five midwestern states that are the largest soybean and hog producers in the country, said a farm group analysis on Tuesday. At the… Continue reading

NAFTA Talks, Climate, and Trump – August 28, 2018

NAFTA, Climate Change, Trump, Bailout,

Trump’s farmer bailout: half now, the rest later … maybe President Trump’s promise to protect U.S. agriculture from retaliatory tariffs by China and other countries will be paid on the installment plan — half this fall and the rest in December, or early 2019 if assistance is still needed, said… Continue reading

Organic Livestock Rule Withdrawl – August 23, 2018

organic livestock

U.S. judge allows lawsuit against USDA withdrawal of organic livestock rule The USDA spent a decade writing livestock welfare rules for organic farms before, in a regulatory U-turn, it decided last December that it lacked the power to implement those rules. The decision sparked a lawsuit by the organic community…. Continue reading

E15 and Trump’s Farmer Support – August 16, 2018

Year Round Ethanol sales

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

Two Trump Officials Back Thinning of Forests

forest, trump, wildfire

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