Catch up on the latest news and analysis from EWG’s team of experts.
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When is a farm bill not a farm bill? When it’s loaded with troubling provisions
A farm bill debate in Congress might conjure up visions of rustic barns and amber waves of grain. So it may surprise you to learn that this legislation could expose kids to pesticides, cut funding for...
‘City slicker’ farm payments hit $2.3B, with House GOP looking to increase payouts
Almost 80,000 “city slickers” living in some of the biggest urban areas in the U.S. took in a combined $2.3 billion in farm subsidies between 2019 and 2023 – many of them using loopholes that allow...
The House farm bill is bad news for children’s health and safety
There’s much to dislike about the House Republican farm bill – like taking food out of hungry childrens’ mouths while potentially exposing their bodies to more pesticides and supporting companies that...
The House farm bill's disastrous dozen: 12 reasons to vote against GOP proposal
There’s plenty to dislike about the farm bill proposal the House Agriculture Committee will consider this week, including its Department of Agriculture funding cuts and problematic provisions that...
Benefit of boost in crop reference prices would mostly only aid large farmers in just 100 counties
Here we go again: House Republicans are trying to rig subsidy programs to benefit Southern farmers. Their proposal would raise price guarantees for commodity crops in the upcoming farm bill, mostly to...
More than 4,000 Black farms are gone and House Republican proposals to increase reference prices will make it worse
The number of Black farms in the U.S. plummeted by more than 4,000 from 2017 to 2022, yet some farm groups and House Republicans have proposed to tilt the playing field even further against them.
At least 10,000 farmers took over $11B in farm subsidies over 39 consecutive years
For nearly 40 years, the Department of Agriculture annually paid more than 10,000 farmers billions in taxpayer-funded farm subsidies or disaster relief, a new EWG analysis finds.
USDA should strategically expand list of climate-smart conservation practices
A top Department of Agriculture official is touting plans to expand the USDA’s list of climate-smart conservation practices eligible for $11.7 billion in federal funding – and the department should...
As farm income returns to normal levels, gaps continue to grow
While farm income is expected to return to normal levels in 2024, the gap between the largest, most successful farmers and their poorer neighbors continues to grow. Increasing farm subsidies, as some...
Increasing crop reference prices would hurt young farmers
Increasing price guarantees for major crops, as some farm groups and legislators are proposing, would make it harder for young farmers – those aged 35 or younger – to compete against larger, legacy...
Do billionaires get farm subsidies?
A blockbuster report by the Government Accountability Office revealed that more than 1,300 “high-income” farmers received subsidies from the federal crop insurance program. But Congress has barred the...
USDA: Conservation backlogs grow despite new climate-smart funding
New data from the Department of Agriculture show that farmer demand for USDA farm stewardship support continues to outstrip available funds, despite $19.5 billion of additional funding for climate...
Triple dipping: Rice farmers received at least $3B from three types of taxpayer-funded programs
Some agriculture groups and Republicans in Congress are proposing to increase crop price guarantees in the upcoming farm bill to boost farm subsidy payments – but an EWG analysis shows some rice...
Increasing price guarantees would likely send more farm subsidies to large partnerships
Some farm groups and Republican legislators have proposed increasing price guarantees for a few major crops, and farm subsidies along with them. But farm subsidies mostly benefit the largest and...
USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program needs reform to improve climate benefits
The Department of Agriculture recently announced changes it has made since 2021 to the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, to improve how it can reduce farmers’ greenhouse gas emissions. This...
Millionaire CEOs run companies getting billions from the federal Crop Insurance Program
In the 2023 Farm Bill, lawmakers are looking everywhere for savings to fund their priority programs. One possible source of savings: big insurance companies’ federal Crop Insurance Program overhead...
Rice to riches: Sixteen rice farms padding their pockets with taxpayer dollars
Just sixteen rice farms in the U.S. have each received at least $10 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies while earning record profits – and now some members of Congress want to give them even more.
Giving IRA conservation funds to farm subsidies threatens millions of cover crop acres
Millions of potential cover crop acres that may help reduce farming’s greenhouse gas emissions could be lost under a plan to shift $19.5 billion in Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, funding from...
Despite record farm income and subsidies, some seek even more handouts
Despite enjoying record levels of subsidies and profits for large farms, and farm household income well above the U.S. average, some lawmakers want to increase farm subsidies for cotton, rice and...
Pocket pickers: Eight cotton farms picking taxpayer pockets
After collecting taxpayer-funded subsidies for 37 years straight, eight cotton farms have received over $10 million each – and now some members of Congress want to give them even more. From 1985 to...
