USDA

Debt

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block. Some good news – President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires in November. Can they jump start a process to resolve our trade war? We hope. The European Union has agreed to give the U.S. a larger share of their

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Gopher Frog

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block. I want to talk about a frog today, but before the frog hops up on the table – just a few words on the subject of trade. The U.S. trade deficit rose in August to $53.2 billion. That’s up $3.2 billion. A decline in soybean and oil exports is

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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program logo

Disqualified from SNAP? SAM I Am!

Owners of retail food stores permanently disqualified from participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are saddled with serious consequences in addition to the loss of the store’s ability to accept food stamp benefits (EBT). After USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) permanently disqualifies a store, the agency promptly searches its SNAP retailer database

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NAFTA Deal and More

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Issue number 1 – China is very unhappy that President Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on Chinese exports. Tensions have escalated. When I was in China with the Farm Broadcasters in June, we had a long meeting with our U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad. He was challenging the Chinese unfair

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Bob Lighthizer

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Will President Trump’s nominee for Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh be approved? We may know by the time you hear this radio commentary. I think he will. It would be a sad outcome if he is rejected. On another subject, recent meetings between Presidents of North Korea and South Korea

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USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Updates Its SNAP Retailer Training Guide

Earlier this year, FNS updated its Training Guide for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailers. This 18 page booklet is required reading for owners and managers of the more than 260,000 groceries, convenience stores, chain drug stores, and other retailers authorized to accept SNAP in exchange for eligible food items. In addition to detailing the

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Opinion: Africa Rising

In the two years since the last African agriculture forum in Ethiopia, the momentum has fundamentally changed. The pace of advancement has quickened significantly; the world has discovered that Africa is the future. That was sure the impression one got from attending the African Green Revolution Forum hosted last week by President Paul Kagame in

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Agriculture’s Message

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block I wasn’t going to go down this road, but a CNN discussion and article that I have in front of me should not be ignored. Here is their criticism – they used internal e-mails from USDA that show “big food lobbyists are working hand-in-glove with agency staffers.” Now, they

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Uncertainty

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block The agriculture industry in the U.S. is dealing with a lot of uncertainty. Falling prices and trade wars top the list. We expect our exports to grow faster than our imports. However, for 3 years in a row, that has not been happening. We are losing ground. Looking to

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Labor Day

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block It’s hard to believe, but summer is all but gone. We are looking at harvest season. Get that combine ready to go. Labor Day is next Monday. Speaking of Labor Day, I want to say how much respect I have for the hard-working men and women that labor

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Down on the Farm August 2018

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now for today’s commentary – I am talking to you on

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Back From China

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the National Corn Growers Association, CropLife America, and Renewable Fuels Association. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you. And now for today’s commentary

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Monetary penalty

SNAP Trafficking and Other Civil Monetary Penalties Edge Higher

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) may impose civil monetary penalties (CMP) on retailers that are determined to have violated Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regulations.  These penalties are most frequently imposed against SNAP retailers who transfer ownership of their stores after being disqualified for trafficking.  FNS may also grant a CMP in lieu of

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The sun sets over a field of crops

Federal Crop Insurance AIPs: Some Misconceptions about Underwriting Gains

Debate over the 2018 Farm Bill, likely to start in earnest this week with House consideration of H.R. 2, may focus sharp attention on the question of whether taxpayer costs for Federal Crop Insurance are reasonable and supportable.  At least five amendments filed for floor consideration are intended to limit these costs in different ways.

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Woman selecting hot food at supermarket

Selling Too Much Food Hot? SNAP-Authorized You’re Not!

Small grocery stores and specialty retail food stores that sell hot foods are facing an unprecedented threat to their businesses.  Not from competition or due to rising costs.  Instead, thousands of small fish and seafood markets in impoverished urban neighborhoods across the country are threatened with the withdrawal of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”)

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John Block: Debt

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block Here is what I read in the Wall Street Journal: “Deficit financing has become the mother’s milk of politics. Each party is giving the other its wish list with all the bells and whistles included and asking future generations to pick up the tab.” The Congressional Budget Office projects

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John Block: Clean Meat

By former USDA Secretary John R. Block All the time, we hear the loud voices of consumer groups that insist the public must be informed about the food we eat. “Label it organic.”  “If it has GMOs, the consumer must know.”  “You should not label it natural if it is not natural,” whatever ‘natural’ means. Now,

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Judge's gavel on American flag

Oh, SNAP! Maryland Federal Court Judge Enters Summary Judgment Against Baltimore Food Stamp Retailer Without Permitting Any Discovery

In a highly unusual decision, a Federal District Court judge in Maryland granted summary judgment in a food stamp licensing appeal brought by a Baltimore convenience store without permitting the retailer to conduct any discovery whatsoever.  In Negash v. United States, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Bennett dismissed the retailer’s appeal of a Final Agency

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Dietary Guidelines 2020

By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse The drafting of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) has started….and it’s a good start. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have announced that, for the first time, the departments will seek public comments on the proposed priority topics and supporting scientific questions

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Tomato injected with growth hormones

How the Federal Government Can Get Biotech Regulation Right

By Nina Fedoroff and Alison Van Eenennaam, as published in the Des Moines Register In his speech at the recent American Farm Bureau convention, President Trump said his administration was “streamlining regulations that have blocked cutting-edge biotechnology.” Why is this necessary?  Paraphrasing New York Times columnist Paul Krugman’s words on economic policy, it’s because we’re still living with “zombie” biotech

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Food drive called "Stamp Out Hunger"

Variety May Be the Spice of Life, But Not as Much as the Food and Nutrition Service Would Like in the Food Stamp Program

Congress Bars FNS from Enforcing Portions of its Enhancing Retailer Standards in SNAP Final Rule Federal agencies are viewed by many as possessing immense power over regulated businesses.  This is especially true at the Food and Nutrition Service (“FNS”) in the context of retail food stores that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”),

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