Congressional Calls for a New Farm BIll and U.S.-China Trade Optimism
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**USDA announced $23 million in grants to support transporting hazardous fuels, like dead or downed trees, from national forests to processing facilities.
Through the USDA Forest Service’s Hazardous Fuels Transportation Program, these grants will reduce the hazardous fuels that pose wildfire threats.
The Transportation Program aims to help businesses, and state, local and tribal governments make use of the dead trees, fallen branches, and dense undergrowth which could fuel catastrophic wildfires.
**Lawmakers have a full agenda, but House Ag Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig is calling for the Farm Bill to get done.
It did not happen last session, and she says it will take a lot of bipartisan work to make it happen.
Craig told RFD TV, unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are intending to do “a piecemeal deal” as part of the budget bill.
**Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on CNBC, expressed optimism that “substantial progress” in U.S./China trade negotiations could be achieved in the coming weeks.
However, the overall status of talks remains uncertain, with public statements from both sides highlighting a lack of formal engagement and continued strategic posturing.
Bessent reiterated that negotiations will not be conducted through the media and that real engagement, because of their export-dependent economy, requires China to take tangible steps first.
