Jim Wiesemeyer

Jim Wiesemeyer was a Pro Farmer contributor as the Washington Bureau Chief. His columns provided expertise and insight on farm policy, trade policy and Washington politics.

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Sen. Joe Manchin went from being his party’s main holdout on major social policy, climate and tax legislation, to striking a domestic spending package deal that includes climate and energy programs and tax increases.
USDA raised its consumer food price forecast again, to 8.5% to 9.5% for 2022. The agency had initially predicted a 2% to 3% rise in prices. Eggs, fats and oils, and poultry prices are making the biggest gains.
Five months after the invasion, Senators will receive a classified briefing Wednesday. Russia launched a missile attack on the key grain-exporting port of Odesa Saturday, a day after signing a deal to resume exports.
A day after Ukraine and Russia signed a deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, Russian missiles hit the Odesa port. Ukrainian foreign-ministry accused Vladimir Putin of “spitting in the face” of U.N and Turkey.
Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) led their colleagues in requesting USDA to address ERP implementation issues. ERP helps producers offset impacts of natural disasters that occurred in 2020 and 2021.
U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh remained optimistic about contract negotiations between workers and shipping companies for some of the country’s most important ports, even as talks extend past a previous deadline.
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are meeting Tuesday as both face a surge in migration. They are expected to announce multiyear, joint projects to modernize border infrastructure.
The CPI, an inflation gauge measuring what consumers pay for goods and services, rose 1.3% from May to June. Prices were up across the economy, with gasoline far outpacing other categories, up 11.2%.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced agricultural producers have already received more than $4 billion through the Emergency Relief Program (formerly WHIP+), representing 67% of the $6 billion projected to be paid.
Russian forces targeted at least two large grain terminals Wednesday in the port of Mykolaiv. Western governments claim Russia is carrying out a campaign to degrade Ukraine’s ability to export food.