Federal

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture approved a new edition of the Farm Bill on April 18. The farm bill, HR 2, is required to authorize farm and food program support which expires this fall. The committee wrote strong legislation for sheep producers with new authorization of funding for minor use minor species pharmaceutical development – a top ask of the American Sheep Industry Association. This program for pharmaceuticals development and labeling for American application is critical for minor species, such as sheep. [node:read-more:link]

Farmers for Free Trade released a report that will highlight California concerns that retaliatory tariffs from China hurt commodities like almonds, grapes, apples, and what the group calls “many other iconic California exports.” [node:read-more:link]

Farmer Mikhail Shlyapnikov says the best way to revive the ailing economy in this remote village is cutting financial ties to Moscow. Mr. Shlyapnikov has launched a cryptocurrency, the kolion, named after his hamlet some 80 miles southeast of Moscow, buoyed by an initial investment of a half-million dollars from investors in Russia and abroad. [node:read-more:link]

Several ships carrying cargoes of sorghum from the United States to China have changed course since Beijing slapped hefty anti-dumping deposits on U.S. imports of the grain, trade sources and a Reuters analysis of export and shipping data showed. The supply-chain pain felt by sorghum suppliers on the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans underscores how quickly the mounting trade tensions between the U.S. and China can impact the global agricultural sector, which has been reeling from low commodity prices amid a global grains glut. [node:read-more:link]

When the U.S. announced on April 3 plans to impose tariffs on certain Chinese goods to punish it for alleged infringement of intellectual property rights, China quickly retaliated with duties on 106 U.S. products. The surprise for the global commodities market is the inclusion of soybeans on the list. The question is whether, given the interdependence of the two countries in soybean trade, China can handle the pain the tariffs would impose. There is no doubt the tariffs will sting the U.S. if they cause a slump in exports. The U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Mexico and the European Union agreed to a new trade deal over the weekend, and the timing is no accident. With the French and German leaders in Washington this week, and the Nafta talks getting serious, America’s trading partners are showing that the world won’t stop if the U.S. goes protectionist. The EU-Mexico deal is the sort of trade opening that is increasingly common beyond America’s shores. The two sides have agreed in principle to remove protections on a long list of agricultural goods, and to expand two-way trade... [node:read-more:link]

There’s a Republican-authored proposal in the next farm bill that would require millions more people to work or volunteer in order to receive federal food assistance. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program accounts for most of the spending in the bill, which is up for renewal this year, and provides monthly stipends for more than 40 million low-income Americans to buy food (though in many cases the funds may only cover a couple weeks).Conservatives argue expanding work requirements will help SNAP recipients find jobs and move off of food assistance. [node:read-more:link]

Critics contend that farmers can pick up an extra shift or two at the local mill, so we don’t need a Farm Bill to deal with things like weather disasters, or trade wars, or volatile price swings. We didn’t think agriculture’s critics could get more out of touch, or heartless.  But, they did. [node:read-more:link]

Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today unveiled a new interactive webpage to identify best practices for building rural prosperity. “Rural communities need forward-thinking strategies to build strong, resilient futures,” Hazlett said. [node:read-more:link]

After hours of criticism by Democrats on changes to food programs, the House Agriculture Committee passed a farm bill out of committee Wednesday on a strictly partisan 26-20 vote as every Republican voted for the bill and every Democrat opposed it. [node:read-more:link]