Ag Policy
Driving innovation to combat NWS and prevent its northward spread.
What if you only had to give your info to USDA once? NRCS Chief Bettencourt says that’s the goal, one file for FSA, NRCS and other agencies within USDA, so staff can get back to the basics of better serving farmers.
Brazil has officially surpassed the U.S. as the world’s top beef producer. With U.S. production down 3.9%, analysts point to Brazil’s feed capacity and rising imports as key drivers of this historic market shift.
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.
2026 will have USDA’s trade team in Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam
The gray wolf has recovered and lawmakers argue each state should be allowed to responsibly manage a population that has exceeded recovery goals without interference from out-of-state judges.
The reliance of the U.S. on China for its vitamins has created a dependency that poses a significant threat to U.S. food security, the agricultural community, and public health, lawmakers pointed out to President Trump.
Farmers need to be prepared to pay substantially more for their coverage in 2026, unless Congress acts now to address the impending price surge.
Establishments using a U.S.-origin claim on FSIS-regulated products will need to provide access to documentation demonstrating how the product meets regulatory criteria. FSIS also updated guidelines for label approval.
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.
Officials say 400-plus beef establishments were not relisted by China back in April.
U.S. agricultural exporters depend on the binding nature of USMCA provisions to access its closest markets and make sales, lawmakers wrote in a letter to Ambassador Greer.
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.
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.
Ag products not grown or produced enough in the U.S.—including coffee, fruit and some fertilizers—are being removed from Trump’s reciprocal tariff list. The move also lifts tariffs on one major ag import: beef.
Customers crave the quality and consistency of U.S. pork, beef and lamb. That is helping the industry overcome market challenges, explained USMEF’s Dan Halstrom at the USMEF Conference in Indianapolis.
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.
The legislation has been reintroduced to expand local beef sales and reduce red tape for small meat processors.
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.
USMCA has been a boon for the American meat, livestock and poultry sector, along with the broader American food and agriculture economy and ancillary industries, The Meat Institute says in comments to the USTR.
Kansas State University’s Joe Parcell says livestock revenues make up more than half of the state’s projected $6.2 billion increase, but volatility across its rural economies signals continued uncertainty ahead.
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.
The Farm Action co-founder says it’s time for agriculture to face an uncomfortable truth. From cattle to crops, American agriculture must rebuild from the ground up or face a tough reality: U.S. agriculture no longer feeds the world.
Landmark deals demonstrate that America can maintain tariffs to shrink the goods trade deficit while opening new markets for U.S. farmers, says Ambassador Jamieson Greer.
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.
Mexico’s Agriculture Minister, Julio Berdegué, is scheduled to travel to Washington next week to discuss reopening the border.