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Professor, I have been watching anti-trade and immigration sentiment in the presidential campaigns and Brexit vote with amazement. We appear to be blaming trade agreements for many problems that have nothing to do with trade.

Although the presidential debates are ahead of us, the debate on increasing the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage cap has already begun. My concern is that we donÀt expand conservation on idle lands at the expense of environmental protection on working lands.

No matter who wins this November`s presidential election, one of the first items facing a new Secretary of Agriculture will be developing a 2018 Farm Bill, a process sure to begin early in 2017. As we start that effort, its worth noting that for all its rich diversity, Amer

Preserving and improving global food security smartly creates economic opportunity here by alleviating poverty overseas. Recently Congress passed and President Obama recently signed into law the Global Food Security Act which authorizes U.S. efforts on international agricultural develo

The Global Food Security Act is intended to make the @Feed the Future@ program a permanent program, locked into statute. It is on the goal line in Congress thanks to bipartisan leadership and cooperation between both Agriculture Committees and the two Foreign Relations Committees

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Turning again to the next farm bill, I want to focus on soil health. We need to be asking,  Do we need to change agricultural policy or research emphasis or programs to address soil health more effectively? 

It must be wearing to man the ramparts in the final months of the Obama administration. So many regulations to write; so many groups to offend; so much to accomplish under the cover provided by the black hole of public attention that is Donald Trump.

On May 19, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry & Nutrition took the Farm Credit System to task for its history of unacceptable business practices, only six months after the House Committee on Agriculture did the same. It had been some years since the Hous

The three pillars of agricultural sustainability include environmental, economic and social impacts. WeÐve done a good job of calculating environmental impacts with life cycle analyses and other measures. Increasingly, we are finding the balance between achieving environmental