The fiscal cliff legislation that brought about the nine-month extension of the 2008 Farm Bill could mean that what nearly accomplished in terms of a new farm bill may start over as a whole new ball game. It is worth looking back at how we got to this point.In 2011, as per the Budget Control Act,
The debt ceiling was raised by $1.2 trillion in three steps: $400 billion immediately, then $500 billion, the remainder after Congress voted on a deficit reduction package and a constitutional balanced budget amendment, and the last tranche as necessary; Discretionary spending growth was capped by $917 billion over 10 years; and, A supercommittee was formed to craft $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.
The supercommittee process fa...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: The tariff burden rose sharply in 2025 and 2026: the effective rate on imports in HTS Chapters 1–24 increased from 1.53 percent in 2024 to 6.11 percent in 2025, before averaging 5.68 percent in January–August 2026. Headline rates tell only part of the story: exemptio...
