Chris Clayton is an Ag Policy Editor at DTN/The Progressive Farmer. With a focus on agriculture and farming, Chris covers a range of topics including farm management, ranching, and sustainable agriculture, while also delving into finance and international trade. He has been featured in Investigate Midwest, Columbia Missourian, and several other prominent publications.
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United States (National)
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Chris Clayton's coverage predominantly focuses on agriculture and farming, with a strong emphasis on government announcements, legal policy regulation, and data citations. Sources who can provide insights into the impact of governmental policies or legal changes on the agricultural sector would likely resonate well with him.
Given his focus on US national issues related to rural America and agriculture, experts familiar with US agricultural policies, trade ties impacting farming communities in the US, or those who can comment on specific government announcements related to agriculture are likely to be valuable sources for Chris’s articles.
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By: Chris Clayton
President Trump on Aug. 28 took to social media to pitch an idea to expand local rancher processing to counter the influence of major packers on the industry. Trump's comments come after he received backlash this week over his plan to expand beef imports.
By: Chris Clayton
USDA officials on Tuesday used the opening of the Farm Progress Show to talk about how they are changing USDA's data collection for crop reports that farmers rely on for market decisions. That includes making surveys easier for farmers to fill out, along with using more satellite information and potentially precision-agriculture data.
By: Chris Clayton
Nebraska farmers enter harvest facing record diesel prices and rising input costs that are eroding higher crop prices. Nebraska Farm Bureau warns of mounting losses, tax pressures and continued volatility heading into 2027.
USDA announced enrollment began Sept. 16 for the 2026 crop year and will run through Dec. 11. USDA also will open ARC/PLC enrollment for the 2027 crop year from Nov. 2 through March 15, 2027.
By: Chris Clayton
New tariffs on imported drones and components are pushing agricultural drone companies to accelerate U.S. manufacturing efforts, though gaps in domestic supplies of batteries, motors and other key parts remain a major hurdle. As drone use continues to expand on farms, manufacturers and applicators say higher costs could reshape pricing and competition across the growing aerial-application market.
Farmers can enroll their base acres for Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) for their 2026 crops.
By: Chris Clayton
Economists at an agricultural outlook forum questioned the impact of an export ban on diesel, while there was also some disagreement over whether farmers need more ad-hoc aid to deal with high diesel and fertilizer inputs.
By: Chris Clayton
Immigration and Customs Enforcement held an enforcement push this week in southwest Kansas, hitting three communities with major beef-processing facilities. The ICE enforcement action coincided with a nearly 16% drop in fed-cattle slaughter on Thursday, and a 9% decline on Wednesday, according to USDA's daily slaughter reports this week.
By: Chris Clayton
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law this week that would set a minimum wage for farmworkers at $19.75 an hour starting in January. Farm groups denounced the legislation, saying it would make labor unaffordable for most California farm operations.
By: Chris Clayton
The proposal announced by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin would essentially protect the equivalent of 770 million gallons of ethanol from being waived from refiners' blending requirements. EPA proposed to add those volumes either to 2026 or 2027, depending on the option it chooses.
