Jim Wiesemeyer

Jim Wiesemeyer is well known to Pro Farmer Members for his long tenure as Washington Bureau Chief for Pro Farmer. Now with agricultural consulting firm Informa Economics, formerly Sparks Companies, Inc., he is still offering his expertise and insight on farm policy, trade policy and Washington politics as a consultant to Pro Farmer. His Inside Washington Today column on AgWeb.com is a must-read item to keep up with the latest in Washington developments.

Latest Stories
Money
USDA Forecasts Farm Sector Profits to Remain Above Average in 2022
When adjusted for inflation, 2022 net cash farm income is forecast to increase by $13.5 billion (8.7%) from 2021 and be at its highest level since 2012.
October 05, 2022 01:44 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
School_Lunch.jpg
What You Need to Know About Biden’s Hunger Conference
A pandemic-era program that provided free breakfast and lunch to all schoolchildren expired this year. Republicans voted against efforts to include free school meals this week. Biden’s plan reinstates the program.
October 03, 2022 12:59 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
White House
White House to Host First Hunger, Nutrition and Health Address in More Than 50 Years
President Richard Nixon hosted the last White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health in 1969. That confab led to expansions of the food stamp program, the school lunch program and WIC.
September 26, 2022 05:46 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) waves while walking outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, U.S. November 18, 2021.
Manchin Blocks Biden’s Build Back Better Climate and Social Agenda, What Happens Now?
Lawmakers may have left town, but centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) left no doubt that he cannot support President Biden’s $1.75 trillion social and climate spending plan, imperiling the president’s agenda.
September 19, 2022 09:31 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
Exports by Canva
Labor Contract Negotiations Continue Past Deadline at Some of America’s Most Important Ports
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.
July 14, 2022 03:42 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will use his White House visit this week to urge President Biden to allow more legal immigration, which he says would help curb inflation.
Would More Legal Immigration Help the White House Fight Inflation? Mexico’s President is Now Pushing For It
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.
July 14, 2022 03:42 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
Pumping Gas in Pennsylvania
CPI Shows Inflation Surged to 9.1% in June — the Highest Level Since November 1981
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%.
July 14, 2022 03:42 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
Both ERP and the previously announced Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) are funded by a bill President Biden signed into law in 2021. The law provided $10 billion from taxpayers to help agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021, of which $750 million is committed to livestock producers who experienced losses to drought or wildfire in calendar year 2021.
USDA Reveals Farmers Have Received More Than $4 Billion in ERP Payouts to Date
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.
July 13, 2022 03:27 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
Gas pump nozzle, Somerville, Massachusetts
Biden to Call on Congress to Suspend Gas and Diesel Tax This Summer
The move is contingent on legislative action, which would temporarily lift the 18.3 cents tax per gallon on gasoline and 24 cents tax per gallon on diesel during the summer months.
June 22, 2022 09:04 AM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
The over $2 billion package includes previously announced funding to expand meat and poultry processing and to finance new infrastructure such as cold storage facilities, but there $600 million in new aid to support food supply chain infrastructure outside meat processing.
Vilsack Announces $2B in Funding to Transform U.S. Food System
Transforming the U.S. food system by improving supply chains and addressing issues exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic was detailed by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack during a speech at Georgetown University.
June 01, 2022 07:38 PM
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Jim Wiesemeyer
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