Agri-Pulse Newsmakers

What does the expired farm bill extension mean for wheat and dairy? And a Louisiana row crop farmer is facing a $291,000 diesel bill. Will the president’s latest executive order help farmers this harvest season? 

This week on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, host Tammi Arender talks with U.S. Representatives Julia Letlow and Nikki Budzinski about the challenges facing agriculture, especially now as the current extension of the farm bill has expired. We also examine how much the cost of farming has risen from 2018—the year the last farm bill was passed—to 2026. That comparison highlights the financial pressures facin...

Sen. John Hoeven says he thinks the farm bill will be passed in this lame duck session of Congress, Dan Basse of AgResource weighs in on the president’s meeting with Xi Jinping, and Krysta Harden of USDEC talks about the dairy industry. Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up! http://eepurl.com/hTgSAD

This week on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, discusses the latest committee action. We also talk with Brian Glenn, director of governmental affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, about what comes next for the farm bill. Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up! http://eepurl.com/hTgSAD

NASDA President and Maine Agriculture Commissioner Amanda Beal joins Tammi Arender to discuss the escalating U.S.-Canada trade dispute. Beal tells us how states like Maine, which border Canada, will be impacted. We also hear from the head of the Corn Refiners Association and the American Soybean Association and what they hope can happen in the next few months to secure more markets for their produ...

This week's Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is on location in Boone, Iowa, at the Farm Progress Show. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announces the Data Modernization Plan and responds to the president's decision to temporarily allow foreign ground beef into the US duty free. We also hear from Laurie Isley of the United Soybean Board on sustainability and opportunities for soybean growers, and ADM’s Pa...

U.S.-Canada trade tensions and the importance of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) — What do they mean for American farmers?  That and more on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers with NGFA’s Mike Seyfert and RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney. Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up! http://eepurl.com/hTgSAD

This week on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall discusses the worsening farm economy, congressional assistance, the farm bill and agricultural labor reform. Louisiana farmer and businesswoman Meryl Kennedy Farr of Kennedy Rice Mill and 4Sisters Rice shares how high costs, low commodity prices and trade uncertainty are affecting rice producers — and why wo...

This week, join host Tammi Arender for Agri-Pulse Newsmakers on location at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days. We sit down one-on-one with House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson to discuss the issues shaping U.S. agriculture. Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Dr. Troy Ott also join us to talk about innovation, technology a...

Agri-Pulse Newsmakers sits down with USDA Undersecretary Richard Fordyce to discuss some new flexibilities in crop insurance for producers, the "One Farmer-One File" initiative, and what producers can expect in the months ahead. We also cover Commodity Credit Corporation spending in this week’s Ag by the Numbers. Also, get to know our new Newsmakers host Tammi Arender. She shares her connection to...

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman still wants to mark up a farm bill before the August recess. Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith joins Newsmakers to share her thoughts on the bill. Then, Julie Anna Potts with the Meat Institute explains the importance of vigilance as southern ports begin to reopen for livestock trade as well as Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling and challenges o...

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman says he plans to have a markup this summer on his version of the farm bill. New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Luján joins Newsmakers to discuss his thoughts on the bill and changes he'd like to see in the markup. Plus, Alan Wolff with the Peterson Institute for International Economics explains what Congress was trying to solve with the Trade Act of 1974 and...

The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act was recently unveiled in the House. Longtime ag labor reform champion Rep. Dan Newhouse outlines how a closed border could generate broad Congressional support for the bill. Plus, National Sorghum Producers Chairwoman Amy France and American Soybean Association President Scott Metzger discusses the top issues for their commodities during recent meetings in...

Several states are moving forward with Extended Producer Responsibility laws that shift the cost of recycling packaging from local governments to producers of consumer products. International Fresh Produce Association CEO Cathy Burns explains the consequences of the policy. Plus, Troy Bredenkamp with the Renewable Fuels Association and Krista Swanson with the National Corn Growers Association outl...

House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson introduced the Save Agriculture’s Workforce Act this week. He comes to the studio to discuss how it would significantly expand and modernize the H-2A agricultural guest worker program. Plus, USDA APHIS Undersecretary Dudley Hoskins provides an update on New World screwworm response and the factors being considered to reopen the Southern border to cat...

Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman joins Newsmakers to discuss the farm bill discussion draft released by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Plus, Tara Smith with Torrey Advisory Group and Anne MacMillan with Invariant discuss the broader farm bill politics at play during the midterm election year and the White House's supplemental spending request to address the cost of the war in Iran, which...

The Senate is expected to release farm bill text soon. We asked Vermont Sen. Peter Welch what he’d like to see included, and if there will be a push to remove state SNAP cost share provisions enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Welch also discusses concerns about staffing levels at farmer-facing USDA offices. Plus, Global Farmer Network founder and CEO Mary Boote discusses how farmers around th...

Agri-Pulse Newsmakers: Undersecretary Brashears: NWS isn't a food safety risk; Puglia on USMCASeven cases of New World screwworm have been detected on U.S. soil. USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears says the Food Safety Inspection Service's 7,000 inspectors are “leading the animal health charge” in the fight against New World screwworm. Western Growers Association President and CEO...

California agriculture operates at a scale and under conditions unlike anywhere else in the country, yet the policy decisions extend far beyond state lines. We spent the week in Sacramento for the annual Agri-Pulse Food and Ag Issues Summit West and caught up with California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross to discuss the challenges, opportunities and innovations shaping Cal...

Many row crop farmers are concerned about having access to an array of crop protection tools. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin explains the shrinking backlog of approvals, how the agency will continue to engage with the Make America Healthy Again movement, and year-round E15. Plus, Mitchell Hora with Continuum Ag outlines the testimony he gave on the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit and Megan Bout...

A bill to allow year-round sales of E15 passed the full House and now awaits a vote in the Senate. Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer details the push for E15, as well as her farm bill priorities ahead of text being released in June. Plus, former Chief Ag Negotiator and current president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation Gregg Doud discusses his key takeaways from the bilateral meeting betw...

The need for farm aid is clear, but a vehicle to move the funding remains uncertain. Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott explains the "differing opinions" on how the payments should go out. Scott also discusses the USMCA review, EU deforestation regulations, and his vision for leading the House Ag Committee if selected as the panel's top Republican next Congress. Plus, Callie Eideberg with the Vo...

The century-old Beltsville Ag Research Center in Maryland is relocating more than 1,000 jobs and dozens of research projects as part of the USDA’s reorganization. House Ag Committee member Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Md., joined the show to argue why the facility should remain open & why she voted "no" on the farm bill in the House last week. Plus, Anthony Reed with FGS Global explains why h...

After overnight debate, the farm bill passed the full House on Thursday. We spoke with House Ag Committee Chair Glenn "GT" Thompson right after the vote. Plus, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney discusses the importance of the legislative progress on the farm bill. On the panel, Anne Steckel with Ardent Strategies explains the fallout of the year-round E15 pr...

The farm bill is set for a vote in the full House next week, but first the Rules Committee must decide which of more than 300 amendments can be offered on the House floor. Rep. Nikki Budzinski of Illinois joins the show to discuss the year-round E15 and fertilizer amendments she’s supporting and how the farm bill could fare in the lower chamber. John Newton with the American Farm Bureau Federation...