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U.S. crude oil prices closed below $60 a barrel last week, the lowest level in over five years and nearly 50 percent below last summer’s peak

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic (HPAI) H5 avian influenza in wild birds in Whatcom County, Washington.

Agricultural stakeholders looking for signs of progress in the government’s effort to set rules for the commercial use of drones – or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) -- in their operations were disappointed last week at a House hearing on the technology.

The Senate tonight gave final congressional approval to a bill reinstating more than 50 expired tax breaks, including the Section 179 expensing allowance that some farmers had been waiting on before buying new tractors and other equipment. The bill, which now goes to President Obama.

Rajiv Shah, the architect of President Obama’s $1-billion-a year to increase food production and reduce hunger in the world’s poorest countries, is stepping down as administrator of the U.S. Agency of International Development. Shah ran agricultural programs at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) today released a menu of 40 policy options for reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The package has been in development since last fall, informed by discussions held with members of an advisory group and other stakeholders throughout the year.

Four newly elected Republican senators, including Iowa?s Joni Ernst and Nebraska?s Ben Sasse, will be joining the Senate Agriculture Committee for the new Congress. The Senate announced committee assignments for Republicans and Democrats today.

Republicans on the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee have released a report that they say raises questions about the peer review process in recent Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing decisions issued by the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS).

Despite stiff opposition from congressional Republicans, EPA is moving ahead with plans to finalize its proposed Clean Water Act rule by this spring, Administrator Gina McCarthy says. She's unsure, however, what the Obama administration will do about a separate measure that laid out standards for f

Chinese officials informed a wide variety of U.S. seed industry officials that they approved Syngenta's seed trait Viptera, according to sources contacted by Agri-Pulse. However, industry officials were reluctant to officially announce the agreement until they received official notification of the