Chuck Grassley

Congress may take the only Farm Bill action politically possible this month, which is to extend the old Farm Bill yet again.   “In the Senate, we can’t reach an agreement that reflects what the House has done in a bipartisan way to make sure the next five-year farm bill reflects the inflation in agriculture that has been obvious since 2018," noted Senate Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa.   I

A bipartisan group of Senators recently launched an effort to get USDA to improve the accuracy of foreign-owned farmland data.  The group, led by Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst and John Fetterman wrote Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack that FSA data on foreign holdings of U.S. farmla...

Farmers are not the only ones suffering from low commodity prices and a languishing farm bill. The Ag equipment industry is also taking a hit, which has some on Capitol Hill worried.  John Deere and Precision Planting and Ziegler Ag are all reducing their workforce or closing plants.  In Wash...

Senate Ag Committee members Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) are asking the USDA to improve its process for foreign-owned farmland disclosures.  The letter follows alleged inaccuracies posted online by the Farm Service Agency under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act.   “...

Senators Jon Tester, Chuck Grassley, and Mike Rounds recently reintroduced their Meat Packing Special Investigator Act, which they say is an effort to fight consolidation and enforce the national anti-trust laws.  The bill would create the “Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters” within the USDA.  The office would be...

A bipartisan group of senators, including Ron Wyden, reintroduced the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2023.  In addition to Oregon's senior senator, Montana’s Jon Tester, and Republicans Chuck Grassley and Deb Fischer rolled out the legislation.  The lawmakers...

First, it was a competition issue, but recently, foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, especially by China, has become a U.S. national security issue.  With that Chinese spy balloon spotted over Montana, the U.S. Air Force is now warning, proposed Chinese land buys in North Dakota are too close to a military drone testing facility.  Io...

Last week, Senator Chuck Grassley announced plans to reintroduce the Farm Credit for Americans Act.  The legislation bans the federal government from allowing foreign individuals to obtain credit and financial services through the Farm Credit System.  The Iow...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is non-committal on supporting a renewed push in Congress for livestock marketing reforms.  Vilsack was careful in recent comments to not to overstep the general support he voiced last year for the Grassley-Fisher bill to boost price discovery and beef industry competition.   “...

The Senate’s $1.7 trillion spending bill to finish this fiscal year boosts agricultural research, rural development, and nutrition, but doesn’t include long-fought cattle market reforms.  The more than 4,000-page bill leaves out controversial legislation sought by Senator Chuck Grassley to force some cattle price negotiating by major packers, known as the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Ac