Ag Policy
Preventing foreign animal diseases, addressing a shortage of agricultural workers and reauthorizing a livestock price reporting law top the list of issues pork producers will virtually take to Capitol Hill this week.
The White House says 95.6% of USDA employees have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or filed for an exemption, but the number who’ve received the vaccine is the lowest among reported federal agencies.
President Biden planned to meet with chief executives of major retailers and companies to discuss how to move goods to shelves as the U.S. holiday shopping season begins in the shadow of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
On Tuesday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack rang in on AgriTalk to share agriculture’s angle in the BBB plan with host Chip Flory.
One result of the pandemic was a spike in savings rates. In the U.S. last April, Americans collectively saved a record 30% of their income. John Phipps looks at China’s savings rate and what it’s meant for exports.
Vietnam will lower its Most Favored Nation tariff on imported frozen pork to 10% from 15% with an expected implementation date of July 1, 2022. Better market access to Vietnam has been one of NPPC’s top trade priorities.
High-level talks between the U.S. and China yielded no major outcome Monday night. From human rights issues to crypto mining, leaders talked about a number of issues. Trade was mentioned but was not a priority topic.
Recent soybean sales have created doubts on just how much China will source. One Ohio State University ag economist says corn, cotton, wheat and pork exports are solid when you compare them to overall commitments.
USDA’s decision to allow some pork packing plants to run faster line speeds garnered praise from NPPC on Friday. This could increase packing capacity and alleviate supply issues in the face of strong demand.
Inflation levels are now at levels the U.S. hasn’t seen in three decades. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a 6.2% spike over the past 12 months, the largest increase since 1990. Beef prices are up 20%.
USDA said on Wednesday that nine pork plants can apply to operate faster processing-line speeds under a one-year trial, after a federal judge in March struck down a Trump-era rule that removed line speed limits.
After months of negotiation, the House passed the $1.2T infrastructure Bill. With $550 billion in new spending, from roads and bridges to a boost to broadband, we look into what’s in the bill for agriculture.
Democrats set aside divisions between progressives and centrists to pass a $1 trillion package of highway, broadband and other infrastructure improvement, sending it on to President Joe Biden to sign into law.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service announced more than $7.5 million will be designated for Farm to Food Bank Project funding to 29 states and territories that administer The Emergency Food Assistance Program in 2022.
Randy Russell, The Russell Group says it will impact 2022 midterm elections and, very likely, the next farm bill.
The Biden administration kicked off the nearly week-long trip EU climate trip with a $1 billion announcement. And there’s more funds in the Build Back Better program, but some say details are still sparse.
As of last week, USDA paid out just over $6 billion of the $16 billion in CFAP payments. One agricultural economist says without the full $16 billion, lower CFAP payments could change net farm income projections.
President Donald Trump and USDA released the long-awaited rules for direct payments under the Coronavirus Food Aid Program (CFAP) at the White House Tuesday.
A phase one trade deal with China is official, clearing the way for America’s chief trade competitor to purchase $80 billion worth of U.S. agricultural goods over the next two years.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a final rule updating hours of service rules to increase safety on America’s roadways.
Biden’s new Build Back Better plan could have a sweeping impact on ag. The plan provides a boost to biofuels and conservation efforts and expands USDA’s proposed minority farmer and rancher debt relief by $6 billion.
President Donald Trump several times over the past week has indicated some $16 billion of COVID-19 farmer aid would be announced soon.
The price shoppers pay for items like meat at the grocery store are expected to continue the rapid rise. An updated Consumer Price Index shows wholesale beef prices could increase 20% this year.
The newest tax proposal in Washington would impose a tax on billionaires. A farm tax expert warns the proposed changes could turn into a trojan horse for farmers and result in higher taxes within a decade.
USDA said late last week it’s not approving a vaccine mandate exemption for Farm Service Agency (FSA) employees, and now there are fears the next shortage farmers will face will be with FSA local field staff.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday introduced a massive new legislative package to combat the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Pork is already taking bigger bites out of budgets, reports AgDay’s Clinton Griffiths, and now a new California law is about to make bringing home the bacon even more expensive.
Supply chain issues are becoming one of the biggest concerns for agriculture, and some economists say as the bottlenecks reach a critical point, it could take at least a year to remedy chaos in the global supply chain.
Neil Dierks, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council, says his industry colleagues in other parts of the world often remind him how significant livestock mandatory reporting services are to the U.S. pork industry.
China said on Saturday it pressed the United States to eliminate tariffs in talks between the countries’ top trade officials that Washington saw as a test of bilateral engagement between the world’s biggest economies.