Farm BIll

As farm country looks ahead to 2025, what are the thoughts and feelings?  Farmers typically are an optimistic bunch, but many are in the mood for change, according to National Farmers Union president Rob Larew.  And he says nowhere is that more evident than Donald Trump’s return to the White House.   “They want relie...

The American Farm Bureau Federation hopes to build on this month’s farm aid success with new wins for producers next year, especially a new Farm Bill.  Ask the AFBF, and they’ll tell you that $10 billion in farm aid and $21 billion in farm disaster aid was great news for the agriculture community.  But net farm income...

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...

Most eyes are focused on the Farm Bill, or lack thereof, but that is not the only issue farm county needs to watch as 2024 draws to a close, and we start a new year.  Mary Kay Thatcher, Senior Manager Federal Government and Industry Relations for Syngenta, said taxes will be a topic of note early in 2025.   “...

The agriculture community is still holding its breath that Congress will pass a one-year Farm Bill Extension, allowing lawmakers to address the issue in 2025.  But, what happens if the extension gets tied up in D.C. bickering?   Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sandison said the state will feel a direct impact in a variety of ways.   “Our ...

On Tuesday, the House Ag Committee announced that Central Washington Representative Dan Newhouse will rejoin the committee in the 119th Congress.  Newhouse served on the committee in his first term in Congress.   "As a third-generation farmer, I am proud to rejoin my colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee. Central Washi...

Congresswoman Andrea Salinas is one of two Oregon members of the House Ag committee, which has worked for two years on the farm bill reauthorization.  She said Farm Bills have always been bipartisan, but she believes Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is playing politics.  Salinas...

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...

After the Farm Bill extension expired at the end of September, there was hope across farm country that a new piece of legislation would be crafted and approved before the end of the year.  At this point, it doesn’t appear the lame duck Congress will address the Farm Bill before breaking for Christmas.   Chis H...