Senate Ag Committee

Earlier this week, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow called on the USDA to address the infant formula shortage for those relying on WIC. The Michigan Democrat said, "Millions of Americans rely on the WIC program to get baby formula for their children, so the current shortages are extremely concerning for parents across our country ...

Senators Debbie Stabenow, Chair of the Senate Ag Committee, Ranking Member John Boozman and Idaho's Mike Crapo are asking President Biden to quickly fill vacancies at USDA. They say filling the open positions can help increase trade opportunities for American agriculture ...

As lawmakers look to crafting the 2023 Farm Bill, the USDA is looking at how it can help in developing the legislation. "We are looking forward to working with congress to ensure that the programs that USDA implements will factor in all people and their challenges facing us today," said USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh ...

While officials are discussing the next Farm Bill, funding the legislation could be more challenging than in previous years. Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow said other than pursuing conservation funds, there aren’t a lot of extra funding sources for the 2023 Farm Bill. ...

The Senate Agriculture Committee’s Ranking Member, John Boozman of Arkansas, wrote a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack asking for a delay in the deadline for farmers to sign up for CRP. With inflation at a 40-year high and global food prices reaching a new record last month, Boozman wants the administration and USDA to look at ways of increasing food production. “To t ...

The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act introduced last week looks to provide what supporters of the legislation call fairness in cattle markets. Farm Bureau Congressional Relations Director Scott Bennett said the legislation, a compromise of bills by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska, has potential ...

Last week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small as the USDA’s Undersecretary for Rural Development. “As Undersecretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small will build on her legacy as a champion for small towns and rural communities, much like the one she grew up in in New Mexico,” said Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow. “She will give v ...

On Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the nomination of Dr. Homer L. Wilkes to be USDA’s undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment. Wilkes currently serves as Director of the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Restoration Team. He s ...

"In 2020, record negative producer price differentials occurred which were not just abnormal in magnitude, they were unpredictable and greatly contributed to farm milk price volatility," said Cornell University economist Christopher Wolf speaking during a Senate Ag subcommittee hearing last week on milk pricing and possible area of improvement and reform ...

R-CALF USA recently sent a white paper to the Senate Agriculture Committee calling for mandating large packing plants to purchase at least 50% of their cattle needs from negotiated cash cattle markets. R-CALF USA says the white paper provides real-time evidence that varying minimum cash cattle purchase requirements region-to-region will allow major beef packers to continue denying timely market a