Policy
The December Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows the farm economy will likely stay strained into 2026. As crops face tight margins, biofuels policy — especially E15 and biomass-based diesel — could influence recovery.
With a New World screwworm case now less than 200 miles from the U.S. border, Seth Meyer says the growing threat adds risk and uncertainty for cattle producers making critical calving-season decisions.
Congress has passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, reversing a 2012 restriction and allowing schools to offer whole and 2% milk again (pending the president’s signature).
During Monday’s roundtable with farmers, Trump said he’ll cut environmental requirements on tractors and other farm equipment, pushing manufacturers to lower prices and make machines simpler to operate and repair.
In an exclusive interview, EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi says EPA’s new WOTUS definition fully reflects the Sackett ruling, simplifies compliance and delivers the certainty farmers have been demanding for years.
The change reverses part of a July trade action that had imposed elevated import duties on multiple categories of Brazilian goods and is the latest effort by the Trump administration to bring grocery prices down.
The Senate’s approval of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act could soon give schools the option to serve whole and 2% milk again.
Farmers who suffered losses from natural disasters that occurred in calendar years 2023 and 2024 can sign up for the aid. It is also available to farmers participating in the On-Farm Storage Loss Program and the Milk Loss Program.
EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers unveiled a revised rule on Monday aimed at clearer permitting and fewer regulatory surprises, such as narrowing which water features fall under federal oversight and confirming exclusions.
Despite the strong political rhetoric at the center of cattle and beef prices, as well as meatpackers seeing major losses, economists say rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd will be the slowest in history.
This facility will increase the range of sterile fly release and bolster preparedness for New World screwworm.
The government shutdown has ended after 43 days, the longest in history, causing $50 billion in spending delays.
With Congress passing another extension, some economists suggest a new reality may be setting in: the era of comprehensive Farm Bills could be ending, replaced by a piecemeal approach in Washington.
At a fiery Senate hearing, farmers and lawmakers call out corporate consolidation for driving up input costs, while industry leaders insist global geopolitics, not greed, are to blame.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the new guidelines will change the food culture in this country.
The White House says China will buy 12 MMT of U.S. soybeans in late 2025 and 25 MMT annually through 2028, plus resume U.S. sorghum and hardwood log imports, clearing confusion over comments from Secretary Bessent.
Details are minimal so it’s not clear how there will be enough staff to provide the Milk Production, Crop Production, Cattle on Feed and WASDE reports with many still furloughed.
Arlan Suderman says the U.S. is strengthening ties with Argentina to counter China’s growing influence — a global strategy that’s leaving many U.S. farmers and ranchers feeling sidelined.
From beef-on-dairy calves fetching record prices to $11 billion in new processing plants, U.S. dairy is riding a wave of momentum fueled by consumer demand for protein and historic levels of investment.
From volatile milk prices to the rise of beef-on-dairy, and from export dependence to uncertainty with China, producers and analysts agree: resilience and adaptation are more critical than ever.
APHIS will host three listening sessions on new funding for Farm Bill animal health programs.
National Milk Producers Federation President Gregg Doud discusses record U.S. dairy processing investments, surging global protein demand, policy hurdles like labor and immigration reform, and what’s ahead for dairy trade with China.
In the heart of California’s Central Valley, generations of farm families are facing a new kind of crisis: what farmers argue is a man-made drought. It’s mounting water regulations that could determine whether the most fertile farmland in the nation survives.
With New World screwworm within 70 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, the livestock industry is on high alert. USDA continues to fight the northward spread of the parasite while debate continues on the border closure.
USDA says this is now the northernmost detection of NWS during this outbreak, and the one most threatening to the American cattle and livestock industry.
Sign-up for the Emergency Livestock Relief Program begins on Monday, Sept. 15 to help offset increased feed costs due to qualifying flooding or wildfires in 2023 and 2024.
Auction barn license fees would increase nearly 1,700% as state ag department cites program deficits.
Labor costs continue to rise for California farmers, but skilled labor isn’t something growers are able to find with the current H-2A program. Labor experts, economists and farmers agree the current immigration system is “broken,” but a solution could be on the horizon.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin proposes rescinding the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding. If the proposal goes into effect, it could potentially lead to DEF systems no longer being required in tractors, trucks and other equipment using diesel-powered engines — a decision many farmers and others in the ag community would applaud.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has reintroduced the DAIRY PRIDE Act of 2025, aiming to stop plant-based products from using dairy terms and require the FDA to enforce labeling standards that protect dairy farmers and prevent consumer confusion.