With passage of their respective farm bills, the House and Senate are taking the formal steps to form the conference committee and begin negotiations to complete the legislative process. Among the many differences that the conference committee will need to resolve are those involving the conservation programs in Title II of each bill. The conservation […]
Author Archive | Jonathan Coppess, Benjamin Gramig, Gary Schnitkey, Nicholas Paulson and Carl Zulauf
2018 Farm Bill: Two big steps forward and the top five issues for conference
By Jonathan Coppess, Gary Schnitkey, Nicholas Paulson and Carl Zulauf on July 9, 2018 in Agriculture, Food and Nutrition, Policy
On June 28, 2018, the Senate overwhelmingly passed its version of the 2018 farm bill with an historic 86 to 11 vote (U.S. Senate, Roll Call Vote 143). Senate passage followed on the heels of a very narrow, party-line re-vote in the House on June 21st finally passing the bill 213 to 211 (U.S. House […]
Progress and potential hurdles for the 2018 Farm Bill
By Jonathan Coppess, Gary Schnitkey, Nicholas Paulson and Carl Zulauf on June 20, 2018 in Agriculture, Policy
The odds for a farm bill in 2018 have improved considerably. On Wednesday, the Senate Ag Committee moved its version of a farm bill with a strong bipartisan vote (20 to 1) (Senate Ag Committee, 2018 Farm Bill; Farm Policy News, June 13, 2018). House leadership is attempting to resolve the immigration issue that contributed […]
Reviewing directions in conservation policy: CSP and EQIP in the House Farm Bill
The farm bill reported by the House Ag Committee and defeated on the House floor remains in a state of limbo (H.R. 2, Agricultural and Nutrition Act of 2018). Among the changes to policy contained in H.R. 2 are significant changes to conservation policy and programs. Specifically, the House Ag Committee eliminated the Conservation Stewardship […]
Initial review of the House 2018 Farm Bill
By Jonathan Coppess, Gary Schnitkey, Nicholas Paulson and Carl Zulauf on May 9, 2018 in Economics, Policy
On Thursday, April 18, 2018, the House Agriculture Committee reported its version of the farm bill titled the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (House Ag Committee Press Release, April 18, 2018). The vote to report the bill to the full House was 26 to 20 and notable because the vote was partisan; no Democrats voted […]
Why they can’t all be trade surpluses
By Kathy Baylis, Steve Burak and Jonathan Coppess on April 6, 2018 in Economics, International, Policy
As the potential for a trade war with China escalates, and the rhetoric about NAFTA continues to heat up, we thought we’d step back and talk a bit about the perception underlying current political concern regarding trade: trade deficits. President Trump’s comments early in March stated that the U.S. has a deficit with almost every […]
Drinking from the Well of Political Thought, Part 1
These are challenging times for policy; intense partisan and ideological polarization pervades the land, serving to confound the policies that should connect citizens and shaking confidence in the representatives elected to craft them. A recent poll found that 85 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing; two-in-ten people think Congress fails to […]
The Japanese beef market’s lessons for trade policy
By Steve Burak, Kathy Baylis, Jonathan Coppess and Qianting Xie on February 1, 2018 in Agriculture, Commodities, Consumer, Economics, Food and Nutrition, International
For ten consecutive years, Japan has increased its meat consumption; consumption increased by 3.4 percent last year over the previous year to produce the highest level of growth in five years. Beef consumption, in particular, is expected to grow nearly 4 percent this year after two straight years of decline. Japan is already one of […]
Questioning the Final RFS Rule, Part 3: Reasonableness of the Interpretation
Today’s article completes the discussion of EPA’s final rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Parts one and two in this series provided background on the RFS, a general review of the final rule and questioned EPA’s definition of the word ‘supply.’ This article delves into whether EPA’s interpretation in general can be considered reasonable […]
Questioning the Final RFS Rule, Part 2: the Meaning of the Word “Supply”
This article continues the discussion of EPA’s final rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The previous article in this series provided background on the RFS and a general review of the final rule. This article looks specifically at EPA’s interpretation of the word “supply” in the waiver provision “inadequate domestic supply” and what Congress […]