Articles by Noah Wicks

A bill to overhaul America’s H-2A agricultural guest worker program stands out from prior attempts thanks to a secure U.S. border, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson tells Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday the administration would not renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, but the agreement is still in place.

The Agriculture Department will offer small and mid-sized beef processors up to $500 million to help them weather a historic cattle shortage, Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Tuesday.

 Commodity groups are protesting Monsanto’s filing of petitions seeking duties on glyphosate imported from China. A federal judge has blocked the Agriculture Department from cutting off grants to 24 groups under a Biden-era program aimed at helping underserved producers access land.

President Donald Trump is raising fresh doubts about whether the United States will extend the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as the trade pact reaches its six-year review point, even as officials in Canada and Mexico show interest in preserving the deal for another 16 years.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency announced Monday a new pilot program aimed at streamlining the crop acreage reporting process. 

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., will formally introduce his Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act today, setting up what supporters hope will be the most significant opportunity for ag labor reform by Congress in years. The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the president’s ability to fire the leaders of several independent agencies at will, overturning a 91-year-old precedent that had shielded them from executive influence.

An Idaho state district court judge has dismissed a 2022 defamation lawsuit brought by businessman and current USDA Natural Resources and Environment Undersecretary Michael Boren against four people who had criticized his request for a permit to use a pasture on his ranch in a federal recreation area as a landing strip. 

As Washington prepares for a big week in agriculture, with review of the North American trade deal, farm labor legislation and one of USDA’s biggest reports of the year all on tap, the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was tested this weekend. EPA’s new mandates for biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard are welcome, but the soybean crush industry also needs a signal from the agency on whether to keep expanding, Clean Fuels Alliance America CEO Donnell Rehagen says.

President Donald Trump made the biggest pitch for year-round E15 since his first term, calling on Congress to include the pro-ethanol measure in a nearly $88 billion legislative package to fund a raft of items, including the Iran war and $11 billion in financial aid for farmers. Members of Clean Fuels Alliance America gathered on Capitol Hill this week to stress the need to pass legislation to expand biomass-based diesel use in ocean-going vessels. 

Discussion on the potential for Senate passage of an E15 bill swirled on Capitol Hill Tuesday after the release of a draft farm bill that doesn’t include the pro-ethanol measure. A bill to expedite Emergency Conservation Program payments to producers whose land has been damaged by wildfires cleared the House Tuesday with a 386-19 vote. It now heads to the president’s desk for his signature.