May 15, 2018
Farm legislation usually has enough incentives to satisfy everyone across the partisan divide in Congress. Not this year. The Republican version set for a House vote on Friday contains so many unpalatable provisions that lawmakers from both parties are racing …
September 20, 2017
In the U.S, government-backed insurance plans help compensate farmers for losses after natural disasters. Unfortunately for the produce growers that were ravaged by recent hurricanes, a lot of the nation’s vegetable and fruit crops aren’t covered. Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, …
January 27, 2016
The U.S. crop insurance market has been abandoned by some of its largest companies as lower agricultural prices crimp revenue, and uncertainty about federal aid clouds the business’s future. Cargill Inc., the largest privately held company in the U.S., last …
January 12, 2016
Determined to avoid a repeat of the nation’s worst-ever avian-influenza outbreak, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is stockpiling up to 500 million doses of a new vaccine — but many in the $48 billion poultry industry don’t want it. While …
November 12, 2015
The year is 2026. Flooding, worsened by climate change, has devastated Bangladesh and driven millions of hungry refugees to its border with India. Worried about unrest and disease, India asks other nations for help. The U.S. and China respond — …
February 4, 2014
The Senate passed and sent to President Barack Obama a measure that sets U.S. agricultural policy for five years, ending the toughest legislative battle on renewal of the farm bill in almost two decades with cuts to crop subsidies and …
February 4, 2014
Crop insurers successfully lobbied to keep several proposals out of the farm bill set to pass the U.S. Congress today — such as a requirement that would have forced farmer-lawmakers to disclose benefits they receive. Senate Clears Farm, Crop Insurance …
January 29, 2014
The U.S. House passed and sent the Senate a much-delayed bill to set agricultural policy for five years, as a coalition of rural Republicans and urban Democrats overcame objections about farm subsidies and food-stamp cuts. The Republican-led House voted 251-166 …
January 28, 2014
Editor’s Note: The House of Representatives passed the bill this morning. For the update, read here. Deep cuts in U.S. food-stamp spending sought by House Republicans were averted in a tentative agreement on a much-delayed agriculture bill, according to a …
November 21, 2013
House and Senate negotiators adjourned talks on a new agricultural bill until after a congressional recess, increasing the chances of a lapse in programs that could double the price of milk next year. “I’m disappointed we don’t have an agreement …