By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
It has been 25 years since a President of the United States addressed the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). The last President to speak was President George H. W. Bush. President Donald Trump spoke th…
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Tags: Agriculture, Broadband, Crop Insurance, Estate Tax, Farm Bill, Farm Bureau, Farmer, John R. Block, NAFTA, Rancher, Regulation, Rural America, Tax Reform, Trade, Trump, WOTUS
Of all the issues surrounding a new Farm Bill in 2018, perhaps none unifies American agricultural producers more than Federal Crop Insurance, provided by USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). Be it North or South, big or small, row cr…
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Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill, Farmer, FCIC, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Government Relations, Kenneth D. Ackerman, Law Firm, Lawyer
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
Tax reform is a hot topic here in the nation’s capital. That doesn’t mean that Congress will be able to pass the legislation. On paper, the planned tax overhaul will increase the national debt by $1.5 trill…
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Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Corporate, Death Tax, Economy, Farm, Farmer, John R. Block, Law Firm, Small Business, Tax, Tax Code, Tax Rate, Tax Reform
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
You may have heard about the John Duarte wetlands case. John Duarte, a California farmer, bought 450 acres in 2012. He plowed and planted it to wheat. The Army Corps of Engineers, the California Water Qua…
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Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, California, Clean Water Act, Conservation Reserve Program, Duarte, Farm, Farmer, Gary H. Baise, John R. Block, Permit, Plow, Wetlands, WOTUS
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
I talked this week with John Duarte, a California farmer. He is in trouble. He bought 450 acres in 2012. He plowed it and planted it for wheat. He now faces $2.8 million in civil penalties because he did not ge…
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By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
Back in March, President Trump gave us a look at his budget plan. Although without much detail, it made clear to us that one of his highest priorities was to downsize the federal government. And, he would do tha…
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Tags: Agriculture, Budget, Congress, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill, Farmer, Food Stamps, John R. Block, Mulvaney, President Trump, SNAP, Trump Administration, White House, Work Requirement
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
“Trump’s Tax Plan Would Spur Growth” – that is the headline in a recent Wall Street Journal paper. First, let me say that President Trump’s tax reform plan is not very specific. I think that is goo…
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Tags: Agriculture, Farm Income, Farmer, Feed, Food, High Plains Dairy, John R. Block, Livestock, Milk, Organic, President Trump, Soybeans, Tax Rate, Tax Reform, Trump Administration
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
I can report that I was on my Illinois farm last week. Weather was beautiful and we planted 360 acres of corn. Then it rained. At least we got started. It is always exciting when you first hit the field…
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Tags: Agriculture, China, Export, Farm Economy, Farm Income, Farmer, John R. Block, President Trump, Thune, TPP, Trade
By Senator Bob Dole and Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse
Perhaps no sector of the American economy is more dependent on trade than agriculture. It is the life blood of the heartland supporting over 15 million jobs throughout the United Stat…
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Tags: Agriculture, Bob Dole, Canada, Economy, Export, Farmer, Food Aid, Food Security, Marshall L. Matz, McGovern-Dole, Mexico, NAFTA, President Trump, Trade, Trump Administration, United States
A fundamental principle of administrative law is that federal agencies must provide the public with reasonable notice and the opportunity to comment on proposed administrative issuances that impose substantive obligations that did not previously exis…
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Tags: Administrative Procedure Act, Agricultural Retailers Association, Agriculture, Anhydrous Ammonia, Attorney, Elliot Belilos, Farmer, Fertilizer, Labor Department, Law Firm, Lawyer, OFW Law, OSHA, PSM Standard, Stewart D. Fried, The Fertilizer Institute
