Agriculture

Bipartisan and bicameral legislation has been introduced to update some farm bill programs and make it easier for farmers to sell products locally. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, a democrat from Ohio, is co-sponsor of the Local Farms and Food Act. He says the bill is especially critical because of recent supply chain challenges. “Our bill will expand and improve USDA local and regional food system grant programs to keep money […]

Senate Agriculture Committee members plan to take a closer look at foreign ag land ownership in the United States. Ranking Member John Boozman tells Brownfield he would like to have a hearing on foreign ag land ownership to determine if the issue should be in the next farm bill, but nothing has been scheduled yet. He says lawmakers need more data. “It’s hard to deal with a problem if you […]

Some agricultural groups want Congress to allow start-up companies to compete for research funding opportunities at the USDA. Legislative director Burton Eller with the National Grange, an agriculture and rural community advocacy group, tells Brownfield USDA needs to diversify funding to speed up the creation and adoption of emerging technologies. “Some of the best thinking minds, innovations, and breakthroughs that could possibly come in the next four to six years […]

A member of the House Agriculture Committee is disappointed the ship has seemingly sailed on Congress overturning the Biden administration Waters of the U.S. rule. In an exclusive interview with Brownfield following an Ag Advisory Board meeting that featured House Ag Committee Chair Glenn GT Thompson, Iowa Republican Randy Feenstra said possible solutions were discussed Thursday. “We were really hoping that we could change the definition of ‘navigable waters’ in […]

Grain and oilseed export sales were mostly lower during the week ending April 13th. The USDA says corn and soybeans posted week-to-week declines following cancellations by unknown destinations, with soybean products, sorghum, cotton, and rice also down. Wheat was the exception, up sharply from both the previous week and the four-week average. Meats were also above a week ago, with South Korea leading the way for beef and Mexico taking […]

The Agriculture Budget bill will be heard on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives today. House Ag Finance and Policy committee chair Samantha Vang tells Brownfield the legislation focuses on food access, soil health, and provides direct investments to farmers. “There are many items that I can name, from farm business education, to equipment grants, to meat processing. And I think the largest investment that we make in […]

Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says expectations are high for the 2023 crop. “There’s never been more yield potential than there is right now as we go to the field.” Naig tells Brownfield additional rains are needed throughout the growing season. “I’ve been amazed at the yields we’ve seen even with those incredibly dry conditions, but at some point you see that we’ve just extracted every bit of moisture that […]