President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the EPA is in the hot seat this week. Lee Zeldin has been taking hard questions from Senators, including those about ethanol.
“I think that he was very forthright in saying when he voted against ethanol that he was a freshman Congressman and didn’t understand the issue. I think he’s had enough contact with Trump to know that Trump is pro-ethanol.”
Tariffs are also at the top of Grassley’s mind. He says he has urged the incoming Administration to rethink its strategy, but he admits he has had little success.
“I don’t think that the countervailing arguments that I’m making are going to be satisfactory to the Trump Administration, particularly if they’re going to have some sort of global tariff on 190 different countries that we could be dealing with.”
The expiring tax cuts are another area of concern this year but lawmakers say they are on it. Just this week, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing to discuss them. A report by the National Association of Manufacturers shows the ag industry could lose 50,000 jobs if the 2017 tax cuts are not extended.
The biggest development of 2025 in agricultural law and taxation was the signing into law on July 4 of the Trump Administration’s landmark legislation, the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (OBBBA)
February 02, 2026 11:40 AM
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House Agriculture Committee Chairman “GT” Thompson is pushing a “Farm Bill 2.0.”
February 02, 2026 10:56 AM
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Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, provides new updates on winter storm impacts and the outlook for rural power reliability.
January 30, 2026 02:59 PM
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The federal government’s status is far from the only factor moving the markets on Friday. Two critical reports released today on producer inflation and the status of the U.S. cattle herd are also top of mind.
January 30, 2026 12:51 PM
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The changing political climate in America is leading to a drop in migrant crossings near the U.S.-Mexico border, where ranchers like Dr. Mike Vickers say they witnessed horrors from death to child trafficking.
January 30, 2026 11:47 AM
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A rapidly intensifying winter storm is expected to develop into a bomb cyclone this weekend, affecting the Southeast, southern Virginia, and potentially parts of the mid‑Atlantic and New England.
January 30, 2026 10:52 AM
