A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows supply and demand factors, such as a drought that affected the price of cattle feed, affected changes in prices of fed cattle—those ready for slaughter from 2013 through 2016. The price of fed cattle has fluctuated widely from 2013 through 2016 and experienced a sharp downturn beginning in late 2015, raising …
GAO Gives USDA Approval to Ditch Organic Livestock Rule
The Government Accountability Office says the Department of Agriculture complied with rulemaking procedures during its withdrawal of The Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices final rule. The office reviewed the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s process to withdraw the rule after many groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, filed lawsuits claiming USDA did not follow proper rulemaking procedures. The …
GAO: USDA Should Increase Checkoff Program Oversight
At the request of House Minority Leader and California Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) prepared a report regarding the Agricultural Marketing Service and its oversight of national checkoff programs. The Hagstrom Report says the AMS should increase its oversight of the 22 national checkoff programs that producers pay fees to for industry research and promotion to expand …
GAO to Investigate Pruitt NCBA Videos
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) will investigate an appearance by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt in a video by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Pruitt appeared earlier this year in a promotional video against the EPA Waters of the U.S. rule. In the video, Pruitt called for public comments in favor of repealing the rule. The GAO has been …
GAO Climate Change Report Estimates Lost Crop Revenues
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) predicts climate change will cost U.S. agriculture up to $9.2 billion between 2020 and 2039 in lost crop yields. The report also details how extreme weather events, including wildfires, has cost the government $350 billion over the last decade, when including crop and flood insurance costs. In the long term, for 2080 …
Crop Insurance Industry Responds to GOA Report
The crop insurance industry is calling a report by the Government Accountability Office “disheartening.” The GAO last week recommended to Congress that it considers directing the Department of Agriculture to adjust the expected rate of return for crop insurance. In 2010, USDA negotiated with insurance companies to set a 14.5 percent target rate. According to GAO’s analysis, the reasonable rate …
GAO Recommends Lowering Crop Insurance Expected Rate of Return
The Government Accountability Office is recommending that Congress considers directing the Department of Agriculture to adjust the expected rate of return for crop insurance. In 2010, USDA negotiated a set rate of return with crop insurance providers. The return is how much companies can profit from insurance policies. In a report released last week, the GAO found that the expected …