Politics
Find out how one leader in Congress is advocating a grounded approach to the Make American Healthy Again agenda.
At least nine dairies in Texas were targets of I-9 audits over the weekend. Producers argue it’s a “broken” immigration system, and the recent audits prove the E-Verify program has flaws. Despite criticism, the dairy industry is pushing to be included in the H-2A guest worker program.
On Saturday, President Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1. The announcement came after a string of new tariff threats last week.
The thought in some ag circles is that the One Big Beautiful Bill is a farm bill prototype or laying the groundwork for its development. Farmers and Sen. John Boozman weigh in with their perspectives.
In what it calls a comprehensive action plan for agriculture security, USDA unveiled seven critical areas the Trump administration will address, and securing and protecting U.S. farmland from being owned by China topped that list.
In addition to major tax provisions, the bill enhances the current safety net, providing $66 billion in new spending for farm programs.
The deal, according to President Trump, allows the U.S. “total access” to Vietnam’s markets with a zero tariff on U.S. products exported to Vietnam.
The groups are urging the administration to “formally include farmers, ranchers and food producers in a collaborative stakeholder process.” An action report — a follow-up to the MAHA report released in May — is due by August 12.
The on-again, off-again reports regarding ICE raids is sowing confusion for those who rely on immigrant labor and causing labor shortages because employees aren’t showing up for work.
The Senate and House each have their own Committee proposals for President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. There are some key differences in each that could impact farmers and ranchers.
The move would increase biomass-based diesel requirements, from 3.35 billion gallons in 2025 to 5.61 billion gallons in 2026, supporting American row-crop growers in the process.
After a week of ICE seemingly targeting dairy farms, California produce farms and a meat packing plant in Nebraska, President Donald Trump is reportedly ordering the Department of Homeland Security to exclude farms from immigration raids.
The Nebraska was the “largest worksite enforcement operation” in the state during the Trump presidency, the Homeland Security Department said. U.S. Congressman Don Bacon told local media 75-80 people were detained.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says one of the challenges the U.S. is dealing with is trying to negotiate agreements with 18 of its biggest trading partners simultaneously. Grassley would like to see a dialed-back strategy used instead.
While the 1,000-page bill includes spending increases for agriculture-facing programs by $56.6 billion over the next decade, there’s one major priority that didn’t make it into the House’s version.
Another Chinese researcher has been detained by federal agents for unlawfully shipping roundworms into the U.S. for work she planned to conduct at a University of Michigan laboratory
A 25-page criminal complaint alleges the researcher and her boyfriend were attempting to bring Fusarium graminearum into the country. The fungus causes significant diseases in a number of food crops, including corn, wheat, barley, soybeans and rice. Toxins from the fungus are harmful to humans and livestock.
A federal court ruled Wednesday that an emergency law does not provide President Trump with unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly every country. The interruption was short-lived after a federal appeals court granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause a lower-court ruling.
The commission now has about 80 days to create a strategy for how the federal government should respond to the report findings, per President Trump’s original order in February.
USDA’s Brooke Rollins and more than 300 farm groups went to bat for agriculture leading up to the report’s release on Thursday. Yet farmers were excluded from having a voice at the table in the development process. That needs to change before the next report – which will provide policy recommendations – is issued within the next 80 days.
Many farm organizations say the 68-page document released on Thursday is filled with “fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides,” positioning that will sow seeds of distrust with the American public.
A chief concern is whether glyphosate will be targeted by the report, which is expected to be unveiled on Thursday. A number of farmers have voiced concerns collectively and individually this week.
The massive bill faced two major hurdles, passing out of both the House Agriculture and House Ways and Means Committees. While the legislation is filled with positive tax provisions for farmers, potential cuts to SNAP are creating controversy.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on a tour of Texas, including a stop at a family farm. USDA says the trip focused on food security and learning how farmers are working to make America healthy again.
U.S. officials and lawmakers have complained that Mexico’s failure to meet its obligations under the treaty is harming Texas farmers. Mexico has argued that it is under drought conditions that have strained the country’s water resources.
John Block shares an insider’s perspective on the challenges faced by farmers and policymakers alike.
Before the White House’s 90-day pause on higher tariffs for other countries expires on July 9, India is one country rushing to negotiate a trade deal with the U.S.
The administration created a “top 10 list” that includes the fishing industry, agricultural land deforestation in Brazil that impacts beef and soy production and Mexican avocados produced on illegally deforested lands.
On her list of issues to tackle, says Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, is deciding if farmers will need another round of assistance payments later this year and if USDA headquarters should be relocated.
The tit-for-tat on tariffs between the U.S. and China continues, with China announcing on Friday a new rate of 125%, which is up from the 84% announced earlier this week. That pushes the tariff on U.S. pork and pork variety meat to 172%. The new soybean tariff is more than 150%.