AG/FDA Blog

John Block: Trump – AFBF Speech

January 10th, 2018
Contributor: John R. Block
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 this we… Read More
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Categories: Public Policy, USDA
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

Top Priority for the 2018 Farm Bill: Protect Federal Crop Insurance

January 9th, 2018
Contributor: Kenneth D. Ackerman
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 crop… Read More
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Categories: For Export, Public Policy, USDA
Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill, Farmer, FCIC, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Government Relations, Kenneth D. Ackerman, Law Firm, Lawyer

John Block: Tax Reform

November 13th, 2017
Contributor: John R. Block
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 trilli… Read More
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Categories: Public Policy, USDA
Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Corporate, Death Tax, Economy, Farm, Farmer, John R. Block, Law Firm, Small Business, Tax, Tax Code, Tax Rate, Tax Reform

John Block: Duarte vs. Big Government

September 21st, 2017
Contributor: John R. Block
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 Quality Co… Read More
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Categories: EPA, Public Policy, Uncategorized, USDA
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

John Block: Government Overreach

June 19th, 2017
Contributor: John R. Block
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 get… Read More
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Categories: EPA, USDA
Tags: alifornia Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, Army Corps of Engineers, California, Clean Water Act, Farmer, Gary H. Baise, John Duarte, John R. Block, Wetland

John Block: Budget

May 24th, 2017
Contributor: John R. Block
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… Read More
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Categories: Public Policy, USDA
Tags: Agriculture, Budget, Congress, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill, Farmer, Food Stamps, John R. Block, Mulvaney, President Trump, SNAP, Trump Administration, White House, Work Requirement

John Block: Two Issues

May 17th, 2017
Contributor: John R. Block
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 good. T… Read More
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Categories: Public Policy, USDA
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

John Block: How Do We Raise Prices?

April 20th, 2017
Contributor: John R. Block
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 with hop… Read More
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Categories: Public Policy, USDA
Tags: Agriculture, China, Export, Farm Economy, Farm Income, Farmer, John R. Block, President Trump, Thune, TPP, Trade

Trade is Key for Agriculture

February 1st, 2017
Contributor: Marshall L. Matz
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 State… Read More
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Categories: For Export, Public Policy, USDA
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

D.C. Circuit Orders OSHA to Follow Notice and Comment Requirements When Imposing New Standards on Agricultural Retailers

October 25th, 2016
Contributors: Stewart D. Fried, Elliot Belilos
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… Read More
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Categories: OFW Law News, Public Policy
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
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