House panel moves to curb food stamps, renew farm subsidies Source: AP

A bitterly-divided House panel Wednesday approved new work and job training requirements for food stamps as part of a five-year renewal of federal farm and nutrition policy. The GOP-run Agriculture Committee approved the measure strictly along party lines after a contentious, five-hour hearing in which Democrats blasted the legislation, charging it would toss up to 2 million people off of food stamps and warning that it will never pass Congress.

USDA says individuals and groups may need license if buying…

A Washington Post investigation showing that buyers affiliated with 86 rescue and dog-advocacy groups and shelters nationwide have spent $2.68 million buying dogs at auctions has ignited fierce debate - and late Tuesday the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a bulletin stating that such individuals and nonprofits may need to be licensed under the federal Animal Welfare Act. "Our job is to ensure the humane treatment of the animals we regulate," Deputy Administrator Bernadette Juarez, who leads the department's animal care program, said in the bulletin, which cited "dog acquisitions from an auction for resale as pets" as a reason that individuals or groups may require federal regulation.

Stefanik looking for input on farm bill

U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, wants farmers and other constituents to share their thoughts on the 2018 draft Farm Bill recently rolled out by House Republicans. One of the most significant changes included in the draft bill is an overhaul of the Margin Protection Program, which is supposed to provide farmers with financial relief when the selling price of milk is less than the cost of production.

Trump flips on trade pact, weighs rejoining Pacific Rim deal

In a striking reversal, President Donald Trump has asked trade officials to explore the possibility of the United States rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, a free trade deal he pulled out of during his first days in office as part of his "America first" agenda.

Trump touts effect of his call with China’s Xi on U.S. beef exports

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he thinks a conversation he had with China's President Xi Jinping has had an impact on U.S. beef exports to China, where American exporters are now selling "a lot" of beef. U.S. President Donald Trump departs after giving remarks during an event in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, U.S., April 12, 2018.

Trump asks U.S. trade officials to look into joining Trans-Pacific Partnership

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked trade officials to explore the possibility of the United States rejoining negotiations on the Pacific Rim agreement after he pulled out last year as part of his "America first" agenda. Farm-state lawmakers said Thursday after a White House meeting with President Donald Trump that he had told his trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, to look into the possibility of getting back into TPP.

Drug testing plan considered for some food stamp recipients

The Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow states to require certain food stamp recipients to undergo drug testing, handing a win to conservatives who've long sought ways to curb the safety net program. The proposal under review would be narrowly targeted, applying mostly to people who are able-bodied, without dependents and applying for some specialized jobs, according to an administration official briefed on the plan.

Trump ethanol moves may be worse for farmers than soy tariff

Based on his own back-of-the-envelope calculations, Minnesota farmer Kirby Hettver could lose tens of thousands of dollars of earnings because of President Donald Trump. But damaging as the brewing trade war with China may turn out to be for Hettver and other American soybean farmers, he says the greater financial impact could come if Trump moves ahead with changes to the U.S. ethanol mandate, known as the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS.

Stopping Cruel High-Speed Pig Slaughter

USDA's proposed " Modernization of Swine Slaughter Inspection " rule would expand a failed and unlawful pilot program, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based Inspection Models Project , to pig slaughterhouses nationwide, creating the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System. While the largest meat companies stand to profit from this privatized, speeded-up pig slaughter, animals, consumers, and slaughterhouse workers will pay a steep price.

Trump faceoff with China exposes GOP weakness in rural U.S.

Matt Aultman, a grain salesman and feed nutritionist with Keller Grain & Feed, Inc., speaks beside grain and soybean silos during an interview at their facilities in Greenville, Ohio. Matt Aultman, a grain salesman and feed nutritionist with Keller Grain & Feed, Inc., speaks beside grain and soybean silos during an interview at their facilities in Greenville, Ohio.

Farmers tense and Republicans torn over trade war

As President Donald Trump moves to fulfill one of the central promises of his campaign - to get tough on an ascendant China - he faces a potential rebellion from a core constituency: farmers and other agricultural producers who could suffer devastating losses in a trade war. Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Chinese goods came with a presidential declaration that trade wars are good and easily won.