Programs and Policies

Read about the latest farm bill and the USDA programs available for your farming operation. This section includes details on farm policies, program eligibility, applications, and more.
Speakers at the Commodity Classic panel on the future of the Farm Bill
The bipartisan farm bill ‘is one of the last exercises of good governance’
Big older man pats the head of a smaller younger man
Your time will come...
The USDA logo
USDA Risk Management Agency announces greater flexibility in crop insurance reporting
29331_lurkins
Q&A: Lauren Lurkins, Illinois Farm Bureau director of environmental policy
Senator Charles Grassley on his Iowa farm
Senator Charles Grassley reflects on careers in farming, government
clover
Are cover crops worth the cost?
FarmerFriendsLaughing-WideShot
2024 Beginning Farmer Tax Credit applications now open in Minnesota
You can use your annual gift tax exemption to lower estate taxes by reducing the value of your estate.
Will the estate tax exemption boogeyman get you this time?
Portrait of Harold Wolle
Harold Wolle becomes NCGA president
Farmers Kitchen + Bar
A farmers-to-table restaurant in the heart of the city
Former Secretary of Ag Tom Vilsack
Vilsack sets $700-million program to help farm and meatpacking workers
Corn kernels on a $100 bill.
With $8.75 billion, USDA nears bottom of pandemic aid list
A fuel pump showing biodiesel.
Opinion: The sustainable-energy future has room for biofuels as well as electric vehicles
A wide shot of Congress
We want a voice, too, say Republican senators
The USDA logo
Big boost for USDA in Senate budget proposal
Farmers exchanging money in a soybean field.
Senators question slow pace of pandemic payments to farmers
A wide shot of Congress
McConnell may sidetrack USDA, other federal funding bills in Senate dispute
Corn kernels on a $100 bill.
Euphoria fades as farmers fret over inflation, rising costs
A farmer holding money while sitting at a picnic table.
Pandemic payments to producers top $400 million under Biden
Farmland
Leading Harvest builds on its sustainability standard
Gabe Brown
What Gabe Brown learned by testifying before Congress
Measuring carbon is a current challenge.
How carbon may become another crop for farmers
Managed forest with fall colors
New forest management incentive for USDA's CRP
Farmers face FSA
Farmers have short window to sign up for ARC, PLC in 2021
Former Secretary of Ag Tom Vilsack
Farmers, advocates concerned about Vilsack's record on dairy issues
Joe Biden
Biden names Kerry as climate envoy on national security team
WindmillOnHill-WideShot
Alliance including farm groups seeks tax credits to fight climate change
checkoff or check out
Checkoff or check out
Farmers exchanging money in a soybean field.
Very large farms collect one-fifth of USDA's coronavirus payments
A farmer holding money while sitting at a picnic table.
Federal funding barrier: Billions more for farmers
Corn kernels on a $100 bill.
Trump's trade and coronavirus aid to agriculture could hit $50 billion
President Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally.
Trump announces $13 billion in additional coronavirus aid to farmers
Graphic showing USDA and farmers' relationship status
What's the relationship status between farmers and USDA?
A close up of President Donald Trump smiling.
Biggest farmers stand solidly with Trump, poll shows
A wide shot of Congress
Two new Republicans on House Agriculture
Coronavirus surrounded by needles and pills
Pace of coronavirus payments to farmers slows, reasons unclear
A pile of money.
Perdue gets $20 billion blank check for ag aid in GOP coronavirus plan
Vince Peterson, President, U.S. Wheat Associates
U.S. wheat farmers are open for business
Migrant-workers
H-2A worker delays causing concern down on the farm
conservation-reserve-program
Conservation Reserve rental rates fall by $8 an acre for new land
Dry-Pasture-Rural-America-USDA
How to Kill Rural Arkansas
grain bins behind a soybean field
Understanding, Managing Risks of On-Farm Crop Storage
tax-cuts
How the New Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Affects Your Tax Planning
farmland
The Sun Sets on Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC)
ErinFitzgerald-USFRA
USFRA: Version 2.0 Starts Now
Mary Kay Thatcher
Thatcher: Proposed Farm Bill Faces Headwinds
Ted McKinney
Stay Positive: '7 Lucky Thoughts' on Ag Trade
TradePanelAgSummit
Trade Is a Bumpy Ride; Farmers Better Buckle Up, Panel Suggests
NortheyUSDA
Northey starts work at USDA
Soybeans Auger
How to Hit the Ag Trade Sweet Spot
Truckers Navigate Change To Implement ELDs
Truckers Navigate Change to Implement ELDs
Ted McKinney
5 Interesting Tidbits on Ag Trade
A wide shot of Congress
Farm Bill Needs Are Many
young-farmers-concerns
Top 10 Concerns of Young Farmers
Sonny Perdue
Q&A: Sonny Perdue, U.S. Secretary of Ag
SmallStreamWithTree-WideShot
Large Grain Stocks Revive Debate Over U.S. Land Retirement
RobSaik
Q&A With Rob Saik
HourGlasses
The Likelihood of an On-Time Farm Bill
CommodityClassic17
SF Blog: Hot Topics at Commodity Classic
MikeConawayCommodity17
A Blessed Farm Bill
PhillipJensenHoopBarn
USDA Offers Loans to Finance Diversified Ag Start-Ups
oct16firstcut
The Debate Over the 2018 Farm Bill
A wide shot of Congress
Farm Bill Coalition Prepares for a Fight