farm subsidies
Trump urges speedy work on farm bill; GOP sets House debate
House Republican leaders have scheduled the farm bill for debate next week, confident that when the time comes, a majority will vote for its combination of tougher work requirements for SNAP recipients and looser subsidy rules for farmers.
Trump turns up the heat on work requirements in the farm bill
President Trump’s preference for work requirements in social welfare programs is expected to come up today in a meeting to discuss the farm bill with the chairmen of the House and Senate Agricultural committees.
Farm bill erases subsidy limits, say AEI panelists
The Republican-written farm bill awaiting a vote in the House effectively eliminates the USDA’s weak limits on farm subsidy payments, said two economists on Thursday. Separately, two free-market groups said the bill was “rife with corporate welfare” and lacked “badly needed reforms.”
Show of opposition: No Democratic amendments for farm bill, says Peterson
Just as they did at committee level, House Democrats will show their opposition to the Republican-written farm bill by refusing to offer amendments during floor debate, said Rep. Collin Peterson on Wednesday.
Farmers increasingly look to supply management to steady U.S. agriculture
With a trade war looming, commodity prices swooning, and the dairy industry in full-blown crisis, a growing number of American farmers are embracing a controversial set of farm policies that would manage the country’s commodity production and stabilize crop prices. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Conservatives’ plan: Make the farm bill Trump again
Just as President Trump expressed his campaign through the slogan "Make America Great Again," a bill filed by two members of the House Freedom Caucus can be summarized as "Make the farm bill Trump again." South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman intends to offer the legislation, which would enact crop insurance and farm subsidy reforms espoused by Trump, as an amendment during House debate of the farm bill, which could occur as early as mid-May.
Conaway seeks ‘Trump-style loyalty pledge’ for farm bill, say Democrats
Michael Conaway says House Republican leaders will strong-arm opponents out of the way of floor passage of his farm bill, which will toughen work requirements for SNAP benefits while relaxing subsidy rules. According to Conaway, no one will be allowed to offer an amendment to the bill without promising beforehand to vote for passage, prompting four key Democrats to accuse Conaway of demanding "a Trump-style loyalty pledge."
Republican-drawn farm bill would loosen limits on collecting farm subsidies
There is little bite in the weak limits the government imposes on farm subsidy payments, and now reformers say the limits will become toothless under provisions in the Republican-drawn farm bill in the House.
Minnesota farmers, rural landowners call for crop insurance reform
As congressional debate on the next farm bill gathers steam, farmers in Minnesota are calling for changes to the crop insurance program. A new report from the Land Stewardship Project argues that the current version of the program favors bigger farms and places an undue burden on taxpayers.
His eye on USDA office, Northey hears electoral clock ticking in Iowa
President Trump's nominee to run USDA's farm subsidy and land stewardship programs has waited for three months for a Senate vote, and acknowledges he faces a decision: To file for a fourth term as Iowa state agriculture secretary in this year's elections or wait for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to end his opposition to a vote on him. "I believe there is still hope right now," said nominee Bill Northey told Successful Farming.
Crop insurance rises to 31 percent of direct federal farm assistance
In 1994 and again in 2000, Congress voted for the government to pay a larger share of the premium for crop insurance subsidies, one of the reasons for increased participation in the insurance program. One measurement shows the larger role: insurance now amounts to 31 percent of direct financial assistance to farms, compared to 2 percent in 1989, according to the USDA Economic Research Service.
R&D for ag deserves more funding – get it from subsidies, says AEI
Agricultural productivity growth is slowing down in the United States because of a decline in spending on food and ag research, says the free-market American Enterprise Institute, presenting a long-term threat to domestic food production and international competitiveness. The authors of an AEI position paper said funding on research and development should double and said it could be offset by cutting "wasteful farm bill spending" in crop insurance and crop subsidies.
EWG counts 32 lawmakers who received farm subsidies
Although only a couple of members of Congress are known as active farmers, 32 current lawmakers have received farm subsidies, according to the Environmental Working Group database.
End farm subsidy payments to people who aren’t farmers, says Grassley
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who nearly succeeded in tightening the eligibility rules for farm subsidies in the 2014 farm law, says he’ll try again with the 2018 farm bill to end payments to city dwellers who never set foot on the farm or take no role in running it.
EWG updates farm subsidy database, calls for limits on payments
Farm subsidy costs are higher than projected when the 2014 farm law was enacted, said the Environmental Working Group, urging Congress to reduce payments to the largest operators. "“If Congress is serious about reducing the deficit, reducing farm subsidies to millionaires would be a good place to start,” said EWG analyst Anne Schechinger.
Fix ARC problems by using crop insurance data, say Farm Belt senators
Two members of the Senate Agriculture Committee filed a bill to require the USDA to use crop insurance data as its first choice in deciding whether farmers will get an Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) subsidy. Most corn, soybean and wheat growers are enrolled in the insurance-like ARC program but there are recurring complaints of wide variation in payment rates among adjoining counties.
Small-farm coalition wants cap on crop-insurance subsidies to big producers
The federally subsidized crop-insurance program, which costs $8 billion a year, "is an unlimited, uncapped entitlement program," says a coalition of 119 small-farm, organic and land-stewardship groups in farm bill proposals at odds with large-scale agriculture. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition proposed an annual limit of $50,000 in premium subsidies for the major crops, such as corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton, and a limit of $80,000 for higher-value specialty crops, such as fruit and vegetables.
Tax cuts may come back to bite farm subsidies, says NFU
The second-largest U.S. farm group says the mammoth tax cut now pending in Congress could force cuts in farm subsidies, or possibly wipe them out, because of "pay-as-you-go" law. "That would be a disastrous trade," said president Roger Johnson of the National Farmers Union, taking a more skeptical view than many farm leaders of the impact of the proposed $1.5 trillion in cuts and associated changes to tax brackets and deductions.
Farm groups prod Congress for economic relief
With two weeks left in the congressional schedule for this year, time is running out for lawmakers to provide financial relief to agriculture, said two farm groups. "It is imperative that they address the well-defined and fully substantiated needs of farmers just trying to hold on for another season," said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.