News Center - Farm Policy Facts

Jun122019

Farmers Counting on Congress to Bring USMCA Across Finish Line

NewsBy Farm Policy Facts June 12, 2019

Hoffman joined Farm Policy Facts from his farm in New Ulm, Minnesota to share with Groundwork listeners how momentum is building both across the heartland and within the halls of Congress to move immediately on the ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Prospects for passage of the so-called USMCA received a big boost in recent weeks as the United States and its trading partners reached agreements eliminating or avoiding tariffs tied to metal imports and immigration policy.

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Jun32019

Our View: Financial Woes on the Farm Bode Ill for the Nation

Our ViewBy Farm Policy Facts June 3, 2019

Rural America is resilient. Our farmers will continue to work the land in hopes that the next season will bring renewed abundance. But they are also relying on Washington, DC to take decisive action to stand by U.S. farm families as we negotiate a quick end to ongoing trade disputes. Standing idle and allowing rural America to endure another farm crisis like the one we faced in the 1980s would set our economy back in incalculable ways. We must support our farmers through these challenging times, just as they support us every day.

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Apr222019

New Podcast Brings Farm Policy to Public, Congress

NewsBy Farm Policy Facts April 22, 2019

Farm Policy Facts recently caught up with two sugar farmers who traveled to Washington last month to make the case for smart farm policies. Their stories were captured in a new podcast, Groundwork, that debuts April 22 on farmpolicyfacts.org. Hear more from Snyder and Medine on Groundwork. The monthly show will focus on a range of policy issues that are important to American farmers in upcoming episodes.

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Apr52019

Our View: Trade Can Kickstart Ailing Farm Economy

Our ViewBy Farm Policy Facts April 5, 2019

The USDA quietly released a statistic in March that should alarm us all. More than seven dairy farms folded every day in 2018, and it’s easy to see why. America’s farmers and ranchers are in their 6th straight year of economic recession, with no end in sight.

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Mar152019

Our View: OMB Budget Cuts Twice, Measures Once

Our ViewBy Farm Policy Facts March 15, 2019

Escalating debt-to-asset ratios reported by USDA last week and rising farm bankruptcies have spurred an increasing number of farm and ranch leaders to call for an extended Market Facilitation Program or congressionally enacted relief, whether in the form of a strengthened Farm Bill safety net or one-time legislative relief.

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Feb202019

Farm Families Face Another Brutal Year

Farm BillBy Farm Policy Facts February 20, 2019

As farmers across the country prepare for the 2019 planting season, the one question on everyone’s minds seems to be: will the new Farm Bill provide an adequate safety net to see farm families through another brutal year?

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Dec142018

America’s Farmers and Ranchers Applaud Farm Bill Passage

Farm BillBy Farm Policy Facts December 14, 2018

As the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the 2018 farm bill on Wednesday, a great cheer rose from farms and ranches across America. Maybe they couldn’t hear it inside the House chamber, but here in farm country, the sound was deafening. It was the early Christmas gift farmers had hoped for and Congress delivered just in time.

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Nov302018

Fair Trade, You Say? Government Facts Tell a Different Story

Current Farm PolicyBy Farm Policy Facts November 30, 2018

The global unfair trade practices that hurt American farmers and ranchers every day aren’t exactly state secrets, despite claims by opponents of agriculture who blindly argue that they don’t really exist or matter.

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Nov202018

Our View: Unifying a Divided Nation

Our ViewBy Farm Policy Facts November 20, 2018

By this point, we are all exhausted by the endless rhetoric about America being a divided nation – a country of haves and have-nots. But, we think it’s important right now to explore this concept of division a little further. We’re not talking about partisan sniping. We’re talking about moisture and weather.

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Nov12018

Our View: Making the Ag Vote Count

Our ViewBy Farm Policy Facts November 1, 2018

Selling more U.S. farm product overseas is the most important issue for farmers this time around – outranking even the war on terror, deficit reduction and healthcare. Not far behind on the list was passing the new Farm Bill, which was more important to farm voters than rural job creation, infrastructure improvements, immigration and lowering taxes.

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Oct42018

Subsidy Spotlight: India

Farm BillBy Farm Policy Facts October 4, 2018

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump and his trade team announced a modernized trade pact with Mexico and Canada, and most of agriculture cheered. But it was a comment about another country during the White House press conference that really caught our attention. India is “the tariff king,” the President said. “India charges tariffs of 100 percent … that’s not free trade.”

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Sep282018

Surveys Show Rural America Continues to Struggle

Farm BillBy Farm Policy Facts September 28, 2018

America’s struggling farm economy is heading for even bigger declines, according to recent surveys, and the nation’s top bankers say manufacturers should expect a major drop in sales of new equipment. Inflation-adjusted net farm income, which is a broad measure of profits, is expected to be down by $11.4 billion, or nearly 15 percent, this year compared to 2017, according to USDA’s August Farm Income Forecast.

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