We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Terms and Cookie Policy
Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Rep. Mike Conaway, who steered the House Agriculture Committee through passage of the 2018 farm bill, won't seek reelection in 2020 after eight terms serving a sprawling west Texas district dominated by oil, ranching and cotton.
The Agriculture Department overhauled its Market Facilitation Program to broaden the number of farmers that would receive the trade aid, but officials may encounter new grumbling over the wide disparities in county payment rates.
The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the insecticide sulfoxaflor for use on corn, cotton, sorghum and citrus, as well as other crops, the agency announced Friday, saying it had concluded the chemical posed no significant risk to bees and that alternatives to the chemical are worse for the environment.
July reports from the Department of Agriculture offered little surprise to traders, including when USDA stuck with the much-maligned June Acreage report data.
Grain traders are still unsure of actual planted cropland after USDA dropped planted corn acres estimates by just over 1 million in its June Acreage report Friday. Many traders find that difficult to believe after farmers in the eastern Corn Belt struggled to plant a crop this spring.
Farmers in five Midwest states have claimed almost half of the $8.5 billion in trade assistance payments that USDA has provided so far as compensation for losses due to retaliatory tariffs.
The House on Monday finally cleared a $19.1 billion disaster aid package that will benefit farmers and communities who suffered from a series of natural disasters stretching back nine months.
Traders saw very few if any surprises in USDA’s World Agriculture Supply and Demand Report released Friday and will eye weather as the next potential market mover.
U.S. and Chinese negotiators are in Beijing this week trying to strike agreements to end the countries’ trade war, but the damage has already been done for the U.S. ag sector and farmers say some of it is irreversible.
Cotton growers have been patient with President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, by far their most important customer. After all, they’ve had their own frustrations with China for years. But cotton growers say that patience is running short as planting season nears.
