Earlier this week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) implementation and oversight of additional food aid flexibility authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Under the 2014 Farm Bill, USAID is authorized to use up to 20 percent of Food for Peace (Title II) funds for administrative purposes, now interpreted …
Canada Farmland Values Up 10 Percent
Farm Credit Canada announced this week farmland prices in Canada increased 10 percent last year as the nation’s property boom is spreading to agriculture. A report by Farm Credit Canada found the average price of farmland across Canada increased 10.1 percent in 2016 as low-interest rates and strong crop income helped maintain demand. The 2016 increase, according to the report, …
Pork Producers Applaud White House Action on ‘GIPSA’ Rule
Call for Withdraw of Regulation The Trump administration gave notice that it will further delay the effective date of a regulation related to the buying and selling of livestock, a move applauded by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), which opposes the Obama-era rule. It also will take public comments on what to do with the regulation. The so-called Farmer …
Ag Leaders Meet with EPA Administrator
A coalition representing various agricultural groups recently met with leadership from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Production Agriculture CEO Council, which includes CEO’s of the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association and others, met with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and other EPA staff members. The agriculture leaders focused on topics important for agriculture, including expressing the importance of …
House Still Not Buying Negron Water Plan
by Jim Turner, News Service of Florida Revamped plans for a deep-water reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee, a priority of the Senate president, have improved the proposal in the eyes of House Speaker Richard Corcoran. But the House still isn’t ready to sign on to Senate President Joe Negron’s proposal, which is designed to reduce polluted water discharges from the …
Seed Industry to “Storm the Hill”
American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Legislative Fly-in, Wednesday, April 5, in Washington, D.C. “Storm the Hill” is a unique opportunity for ASTA members representing every crop and every part of the nation to join together with a unified voice on Capitol Hill. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2026FL Cattle Enhancement Board Wraps up Funding YearJune 30, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement …
Don’t Let the Tail Wag the Dog
by Jim Mulhern, President, CEO National Milk Producers Federation If experience is the best teacher, Congress should have learned an important lesson from the experience with the dairy Margin Protection Program during the past two years: letting policy be dictated by an inaccurate Congressional Budget Office computer model that attempts to predict costs of a proposed program 10 years into …
U.S. Hogs and Pigs Inventory Up 4 Percent
As of March 1, there were 71.0 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up 4 percent from March 2016, but down 1 percent from December 1, 2016, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Other key findings in the report were: Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly …
NCC Pleased With EPA’s Chlorpyrifos Action
EPA released an order on March 29 denying in full the petition requesting that the agency revoke all tolerances for chlorpyrifos. EPA now will move forward on updating and revising the human health assessment for chlorpyrifos under the standard procedures of the ongoing registration review process. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2026FL Cattle Enhancement Board Wraps up Funding YearJune …
Farm Bureau Praises EPA Chlorpyrifos Decision
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall today applauded Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt for rejecting a petition that would have eliminated the use of chlorpyrifos in agriculture. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2026FL Cattle Enhancement Board Wraps up Funding YearJune 30, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Awarded Researcher Discusses New World Screwworm OverviewJune 19, 2026Verdant Robotics Offers Growers …