Agriculture Policy

The number of farms is decreasing as the U.S. farmer ages, according to the results of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2017 Census of Agriculture. The census, released on April 11, found the total number of farms in the United States declined 3 percent from 2012 to 2017 and the average age of all producers is 57.5, up 1.2 years from 2012. The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) with information provided directly by farmers and ranchers. USDA said the number of the largest and smallest operations has ... Read More

Beginning in August 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will change its methodology slightly for projecting production and yields for corn, soybeans and cotton. Except for Texas, NASS no longer will use field surveys for the August projections and instead will rely exclusively on farmer surveys and satellite information. NASS said it will continue to conduct field surveys for the September, October and November Crop Production reports for corn, soybeans and cotton. The changes are the result of a program review NASS conducts every ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area will host a 2018 farm law listening session on March 21 at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the listening session is for REE to hear from stakeholders and other interested members of the public about the programs that are being implemented or revised by REE as required under the new farm law. REE consists of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Economic Research Service (ERS), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), ... Read More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 12 proposed regulatory changes to allow gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) to take advantage of the 1-pound-per-square-inch (PSI) Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver for the summer months that historically has been applied only to E10. In the 175-page proposal, which is expected to be published next week in the Federal Register, EPA also proposed regulatory changes to modify elements of the renewable identification number (RIN) compliance system under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program to enhance ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to share regulatory responsibility over cell-based animal food products. “This shared regulatory approach will ensure that cell-cultured products derived from the cell lines of livestock and poultry are produced safely and are accurately labeled,” noted a March 7 announcement, in which the FDA and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a formal agreement to jointly oversee production of food made from this ... Read More

By Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Affairs In a March 1 statement submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), NGFA commended Congress for making positive reforms to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the 2018 farm law, and urged the department to implement them as intended. In the statement responding to USDA’s request for input on its implementation of the 2018 farm law, NGFA noted Congress’ intent to limit rental rates to better target CRP to marginal land. NGFA stressed that too much productive farmland currently is enrolled in CRP, ... Read More

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., took time during a busy 116th Congress to answer NGFA’s questions about his priorities in leading the committee. This is the second time Peterson has served as the committee’s chairman, after previously serving from 2007-11. Since 2011, he served as the committee’s ranking member. Q: What are the top three issues you’ll prioritize as House Agriculture Committee chairman? Chairman Peterson: Obviously farm bill implementation is going to be front and center as we get started in this Congress. I want to know what USDA’s plan is ... Read More