Articles by Philip Brasher

The price tag for a new package of farm aid appears to be growing. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., tells Agri-Pulse lawmakers have been talking about $7 billion in disaster assistance to go with the $15 billion or more being discussed in economic aid. The total cost of the package could range up to $22 billion, he said Thursday.

Boxed beef prices are surging more than usual this year amid tight cattle supplies, according to a Mississippi State University economist.

Pressure is mounting on both the White House and Congress to provide a new round of payments to farmers.

Farm organizations appealed Thursday to the Trump administration to propose a new round of assistance for ag producers as part of a defense supplemental request for funding the war with Iran.

Sheep numbers continue to shrink in the United States, even though numbers are growing in some states, most notably Texas, where sheep are being grazed around solar farms, according to a Texas A&M University economist.

Top GOP ag committee senators who have spoken with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., say he is willing to attach more farm aid to any bill to fund war in Iran.

Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman is vowing to keep working with fellow panel members to get more financial aid to struggling farmers. Boozman acknowledged at a hearing Tuesday on finding new ag markets, “If you're putting something in the ground, you're probably losing money,” Boozman said in opening remarks at a hearing Tuesday on domestic ag markets.

GOP Senate Ag Committee lawmakers are considering attaching additional support for U.S. ag producers to a future supplemental funding package to give the Pentagon more money for its Iran operations.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he ended a “war on protein" with the Trump administration's new dietary guidelines and food pyramid. For some farmers it feels like he’s started a war on wheat. The administration's new dietary recommendations cut in half the amount of grains Americans are supposed to eat.

The House Ag Committee’s new farm bill heads to the floor with some significant Democratic support behind it. Seven committee Democrats voted for the measure. But the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Amy Klobuchar, says the legislation won’t attract Democratic votes in that chamber unless it addresses some SNAP cuts that Republicans forced through Congress last year.