Articles by Steve Davies

Partially motivated by funding concerns, two prominent hemp-growing states recently decided to let the U.S. Department of Agriculture regulate hemp within their borders, and others are still in the process of deciding whether to hand over authority to USDA as the pilot programs authorized under the 2014 farm bill expire at the end of this year.

We’ve got some more detail on Democrats’ plans for using their huge Build Back Better bill to promote cover crops and other forms of climate-smart agriculture. Agri-Pulse obtained a draft amendment to the bill that authorizes the $28 billion in conservation funding.

It’s a huge week ahead on Capitol Hill. Congress must act to keep the government from shutting down when the new fiscal year begins on Friday.

The Agriculture Department is seeking members for an advisory panel on equity as it attempts to address long-standing barriers minorities have faced in accessing federal farm programs.

We now have the details on the $28 billion plan that Democrats have developed for funding climate-smart agriculture. According to a summary circulating on Capitol Hill and obtained by Agri-Pulse, the plan features a new $5 billion program to provide direct payments to farmers who plant cover crops.

The United States committed $10 billion over five years toward domestic and international food security, and ag industry groups expressed support for the United States' new "productivity coalition" as the United Nations Food Systems Summit convened Thursday.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott tells Agri-Pulse that he wants to make sure that carbon markets are going to be workable for farmers and won’t harm food production.

The House and Senate Agriculture committees have long been known as some of the most bipartisan panels in Congress. But when one party or the other insists on pushing through a partisan policy priority, the result can be the kind of rancor that marked a House Ag Committee on Tuesday.

Commitments to eradicate hunger and address climate change will receive a lot of attention at the United Nations Food Systems Summit Thursday, but new reports released in advance of the event demonstrate the steep challenges faced by the world’s nations.

Democratic leaders have made it official: A continuing resolution that’s needed to avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1 will include a provision to increase the debt limit.