John Newton

A tough budget environment and expected falling crop prices will make it even more challenging to write the next Farm Bill.  Senate Ag Republican Chief Economist John Newton said producers are facing soaring input costs, an unrealistic farm safety net and gloomy Congressional Budget Office crop projections.   “...

Ask the American Farm Bureau Federation, they’ll tell you a proposal to eliminate the stepped-up basis in agriculture would have a costly impact on farmers nationwide. AFBF chief economist John Newton said tax policy is important in helping farmers pass their operations on to future generations. ...

The much-anticipated $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is expected to recieve a narrow final approval in the House Wednesday, after the Senate OKed a revised version, last weekend. The bill contains billions more for Ag and food programs ...

American livestock producers need the equivalent of crop insurance. American Farm Bureau Chief Economist John Newton recently made that statement in front of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Meeting. Newton said that in the 2023 Farm Bill, we will need “careful consideration as to how we are reaching the livestock sector with crop insurance-like policies.” He ...

Data released by the EPA and analyzed by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows carbon sequestration efforts resulted in carbon removed from the atmosphere. “During 2018, carbon sequestration efforts resulted in an increase in CO2 stocks, that means that’s carbon removed from the atmosphere of more than 760 million metric tons," said Farm Bureau Chief Economist John Newton. "So, when

Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy filings in 2020 were the third highest over the last decade, but that number was actually a decline. American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist John Newton said nationwide, there were 552 Chapter 12 family farm bankruptcies, down 7% from a year earlier ...

2021 is starting off with some bright spots for farm country, which has led to some early year optimism for the Ag economy. American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist John Newton said trade with China is certainly a highlight. “Recently released data from the U.S. Ce ...

A recently released survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau suggests that a majority of Americans believe farmers and ranchers are feeding the world in a sustainable way. Sustainability is an important topic to many Americans in 2020 ...

The 2018 Farm Bill modified milk pricing rules to facilitate improved risk management for beverage milk processors, cooperatives and dairy farmers. While the goal of improving risk management was achieved, American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist John Newton says the change cost dairy farmers millions ...

Farmland cash rent rates remain stable in 2020, according to a Market Intel analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation. The analysis found that during 2020, the average cash rental rates for cropland, irrigated cropland and pastureland were $139 per acre, $216 per acre and $13 per acre, respectively ...