Month: June 2019

Judge allows DOJ to intervene in poultry price-fixing case U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin in Chicago granted the Department of Justice’s request to stay discovery in a high-profile case that alleges collusion in the poultry industry. Durkin halted discovery in the case for three months, half the time DOJ had… Continue reading

Profits won’t sprout from shower of prevented-planting payments Some growers may collect three or even four payments on land where they were unable to plant a crop this spring due to persistent rain and flooding, but no one is going to get rich off of it, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny… Continue reading

Put USDA in charge of gene-edited livestock, says hog industry The U.S. hog industry is going to the White House in its campaign for the USDA to supplant FDA as the federal regulator of gene-edited food animals, leaders said on Tuesday. House passes spending bill, including amendment to delay hog-slaughter… Continue reading

Supreme Court rules SNAP sales data are confidential A solid majority of the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that SNAP sales data at the store level are confidential and outside of the reach of public-records laws. The Argus Leader newspaper fought for access to the information for eight years on… Continue reading

Difficult choices when crop insurance, disaster aid and Trump’s bailout intersect The farm safety net offers many strands of support to farmers swamped by a historically slow planting season, but the strands pull in different directions, says associate professor Bradley Lubben, of the University of Nebraska. “The complexity for producer… Continue reading

(Farm Progress) Trade aid criticized at WTO, USMCA passes in Mexico and double cropping in Nebraska Missed some agricultural news this week? Here are seven stories to catch you up. 1. The Trump administration’s $16 billion of trade aid has been criticized by World Trade Organization members. The European Union,… Continue reading

Trump: USMCA vote will be ‘very bipartisan’ On Thursday, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seated at his side, President Trump predicted a “very bipartisan” vote in Congress for adoption of the so-called new NAFTA, though when the House will vote on the trade pact is unclear. After undercover investigation… Continue reading

White House targets ag provisions in veto threat of mammoth funding bill The U.S. House opened debate on a mammoth federal spending bill, including money for the USDA, on Tuesday under the threat of a presidential veto of the $322 billion bill. The White House said it opposed half a… Continue reading

Some ‘plussing up’ needed before White House seeks USMCA vote U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer said he was in discussions with House Democrats about “plussing up” the new NAFTA and shied away on Tuesday from suggesting when the White House will ask for a vote on it. Environmental groups sue… Continue reading