Legislation
Some Farm Loan Rates Raised by 2025 Reconciliation Law
The fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21) raised statutory loan rates for all Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) and Loan Deficiency Payment...
Farm Bill Reauthorization Stalls as 2026 Deadline Looms
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334) expired in 2023 and has since been extended three times, making the current reauthorization the...
Federal Fishery Disaster Aid Lacks Permanent Funding
The federal government has appropriated nearly $2.1 billion for fishery disaster relief since 1994, according to files.gao.gov, yet Congress must approve...
House Examines Domestic Agricultural Product Demand, Funding
The House Agriculture Committee examined tools for increasing demand for domestic agricultural products in the United States and abroad in the hearing...
Farm Credit Administration Board Lacks Quorum Amid Vacancies
The Farm Credit Administration's leadership structure has a governance problem, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service updated...
Agricultural Act Senate Vote Leaves Status Unclear
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee reconvened Sept. 16 to consider the Agricultural Act of 2026, after an August vote failed to...
H.R. 7567 Gets Budget-Neutral CBO Score for Mandatory Spending
The Congressional Research Service report “Farm Bill Primer: Budget Dynamics,” updated June 1, 2026, lays out how lawmakers can evaluate the cost of farm...
Canada in the Tariff Crosshairs: Section 338
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published September 14 examines recent tariffs on Canadian products, and their legal precedent. On July 20,...
USDA Section 32 Funds Farm Support, Child Nutrition Programs
USDA Section 32 channels customs receipts into agricultural support and child nutrition, putting the program’s statutory design alongside an unsettled...
Lumber Association's $890K Lobbying Spend at Forbes Tate
The Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association (SLMA) has spent $890,144 on lobbying over the past four quarters, making it a meaningful client for...
CropLife America Expands Lobbying on Agriculture
CropLife America expanded its lobbying presence by amending its registration with Bishop Consulting Group LLC on September 2. CropLife America, which...
Panel Will Weigh Expanded Farm Disaster Coverage
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee will consider the Agricultural Act of 2026 on Wednesday, September 16. The Senate bill would...
USDA Shares Climate Pest Risks but Lacks Resilience Plan
The Department of Agriculture is unprepared for climate-driven threats to American farms and forests, according to a new report from the U.S. Government...
2025 Law Expands Whole and 2% Milk Options in School Meals
Congress is reshaping federal nutrition standards for school meals after more than a decade of low-fat-only rules. The law, enacted on January 14,...
Smithfield Foods Hires Greenberg Traurig on Farm Bill
Smithfield Foods is lobbying on science-based animal welfare standards and Farm Bill reauthorization while contending with U.S. scrutiny of its foreign...
Admin Seeks $4.9B Agriculture Cut; House Offers $4.2B More
A Congressional Research Service report published September 10 compares the Trump administration's FY2027 agriculture budget request with the House-passed...
Fertilizer Supply Chain Faces Domestic Constraints
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on fertilizer transportation, published Sept. 4, shows that domestic supply constraints are undermining the...
H5N1 Outbreak Infects Millions of U.S. Poultry
Federal agencies and Congress are grappling with an expanding H5N1 outbreak that has infected more than 19,000 wild birds, over 208 million poultry, and...
