Agriculture Policy

The House on June 5 passed a package of appropriations bills that fund several federal departments, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for the 2020 fiscal year, which spans Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020. The package, passed by a 227-194 vote, exceeded the president’s budget request by more than $5 billion, allocating a total of $24.31 billion. The legislation provides $1.802 billion for farm programs, $32.1 million greater than fiscal 2019, and includes an increase of $30 million for 2018 farm law implementation. Democrats also included language blocking USDA’s proposal to ... Read More

By Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Relations Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on June 10 issued a statement on disaster and trade-related assistance, noting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide more information on the trade-related Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payment rates and details of the various components of the disaster relief legislation “in the coming weeks.” In his statement, Perdue reiterated President Trump’s commitment to provide up to $16 billion “to support farmers as they absorb some of the negative impact of unjustified ... Read More

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced late last week the availability of a one-year extension for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts expiring Sept. 30, 2019. The extension is a stopgap until the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can finish its rulemaking process to account for the changes to CRP that were made in the 2018 farm law. CRP contracts on approximately 1.6 million acres are currently scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. The signup for the one-year extension will begin June 3 and end on Aug. 23. The extension is not available to CRP participants if the ... Read More

President Donald Trump on June 6 signed the $19 billion disaster aid bill, which includes about $3 billion to assist agricultural producers suffering from disasters that occurred in 2018 and 2019. Under the bill, payments for crop insurance policies under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program will cover up to 90 percent of the loss. Crops not covered under these programs can receive up to 70 percent of the loss.There is widespread confusion among growers as to how this provision may relate to crops prevented from being planted, noted the American ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Trade-disruption assistance intended for American farmers should not include payments made to any foreign companies, said Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and eight other Democratic senators in a May 29 letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “While we understand (USDA’s) desire to aid farmers impacted by this trade disruption, we urge you to stop making trade mitigation commodity purchases that benefit foreign-owned companies,” the senators wrote. The Trump administration ... Read More

The Senate on May 23 approved a $19 billion disaster package for victims of wildfires and storms that have caused damage across the country over the past several months. But action in the House was delayed today when Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, objected to a unanimous consent motion to have the bill approved by the House. That objection will delay House consideration until it returns from the congressional Memorial Day recess. The Senate-approved package includes payments for producers prevented from planting, as well for stored crops damaged by floods.  “I want to thank President ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., threatened to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) for resuming enrollment for the continuous signup portion of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) during a subcommittee hearing on May 15. FSA announced earlier that day that it will accept applications beginning June 3 for certain practices under the “continuous” CRP signup, as well as reopen signup for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Peterson told FSA ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) voted May 9 to unionize, in response to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s plan to move ERS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) out of Washington, D.C. The vote brings ERS into the American Federation of Government Employees, which already represents more than 100,000 USDA workers nationwide. The federation would negotiate on behalf of 214 economists, analysts and other ERS employees as the department continues its ... Read More