Agri-Pulse staff

The House and Senate last Friday approved legislation that includes the federal surface transportation reauthorization bill, which provides an estimated $105 billion in federal funding for highway, transit and safety programs through the end of September 2014. After nine extensions, Congress narrow

While the Supreme Court deemed virtually all of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) constitutional last week, Republican leaders are still calling for full repeal and critics are questioning the legitimacy of issuing the “individual mandate” as a congressional tax. In the meantim

Scattered rain and windstorms wreaked havoc over the weekend, while bringing welcome moisture to some regions of the U.S. But it was not enough rain to dispel mounting concerns about the nation’s corn, soybean and other crops.

USDA issued an update today on its investigation into the discovery of genetically engineered wheat in Oregon, reaffirming that no other GE wheat has been discovered.

The agriculture industry could force conservative lawmakers to vote for immigration reform, former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour said today at a Bipartisan Policy Center event

Several groups, including the American Soybean Association (ASA), urged the House Thursday to quickly consider and pass its five-year farm bill (H.R. 1947), but with changes to the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program option.

The Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine says he is “absolutely committed to the United States-Irish relationship” and is working hard to build ties with key players.

American Medical Association (AMA) delegates addressed two controversial consumer interests last week – labeling of genetically modified foods and sweeteners in beverages – but the policy changes adopted fell short of the more stringent action demanded by some in the organization.

Findings from a USDA Economic Research Service ERS report suggest that access to federal or state-inspected slaughter and processing facilities is limited in some parts of the country, hindering local producers’ ability to meet the growing demands for locally sourced meat.

“Irreplaceable crop diversity is threatened by extinction in nature, in traditional farmers’ fields, and even in developed nations,” says Peter Bretting, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service National Program Leader in Plant Germplasm and Genomes.