2018 Farm Bill

The third time was the charm, as the House and then the Senate passed stopgap funding legislation just prior to Friday’s deadline to avert a government shutdown.  Plan “C” approved late last week included farm and disaster aid.  Farm groups, led by the A...

Baring a complete change in the mentality in D.C., the passage of a new Farm Bill before the 118th Congress comes to an end looks very unlikely.  Dan Newhouse, Chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, said he is incredibly disappointed that despite having good legislation to vote on, lawmakers couldn’t get a new Farm Bill across the finish line this year.   “The a...

Republican governors have written Congress on the urgent need to update the 2018 Farm Bill.  In the letter, the state leaders emphasized how the agriculture industry has experienced high inflation, high input costs, high interest rates, catastrophic weather events, natural disasters, regulatory uncertainty, and a growing agricultural trade deficit.  High in...

While the lame-duck session of Congress represents one last chance at a farm bill, industry experts say it would require compromise on a number of tricky issues.  Farm Policy News said it would require House and Senate leaders to agree on spending in quite a few important areas.   ...

With the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill nearly a month ago, many important agriculture programs are on hold, including several trade promotion programs.  k, an economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, says Title III programs generate outstanding returns for farm bill investments.   ...

Farm Bill challenges will not go away in 2025 if Congress has to punt again on the top farming legislation; that, from a top American Farm Bureau official.  AFBF Director of Government Affairs Joe Gilson said there will be many challenges next year, since there will be a new Congress, new representatives, new senators, and a debt selling issue to address.  All of ...

The Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a report analyzing the influence of lobbying on food and agriculture systems.  The report finds that agribusinesses, industry associations, and other interest groups have spent more than $500 million to influence legislation, including the Farm Bill, between 2019 and 2023.  The Far...

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden wants to increase consumer protections and regulations for hemp-infused beverages, and those in the industry appear to support the effort.  The Democrat spoke at the Pacific Hemp Beverage Industry Summit in Bend last week, telling the group federal regulations would ease the concerns of retail chains who have to deal with different rules in different states.  ...

With the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill on September 30th, the question running through farm county is what programs have stopped and what programs continue?   “Some programs that are called orphan programs that effective September 30th basically stopped," said Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.  "There a...

With no new Farm Bill in place after the 2018 Farm Bill deadline passed on September 30th, there are already impacts on U.S. farmers and ranchers.   “Most of the impacts won't be felt until the new crop year, or for dairy producers, the impact will be felt beginning January 1," said Sam Kieffer, vice president of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation.  "But imm... Read Mo