Ag Policy Blog

The U.S. Trade Representative's Office concluded Thursday that the fees starting at $50 a ton were needed on ships that arrive at U.S. ports because China had targeted the maritime industry, harming U.S. ship manufacturing and U.S.-based maritime companies.

Pressing their focus to Make America Healthy Again, the secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services were in Arkansas and Indiana on Tuesday as governors announced plans to ask USDA for waivers on SNAP to restrict some purchases.

Stating a review has been completed, USDA is canceling the Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities program started under the Biden administration. Still, grant recipients can continue the work under a new program, which will be called Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP...

President Trump discussed easing restrictions around undocumented farm labor during a Cabinet meeting Thursday. It was the first time the president had signaled a willingness to temper his mass deportation plans to help protect the labor pool for industries such as...

The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act would create and empower a team of investigators at USDA to prevent anticompetitive practices in the meat and poultry industry by enforcing existing antitrust laws, in coordination with the Department of Justice and the Federal...

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Sunday vigorously defended the tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump, but she also said she is working with appropriators to make sure there are funds to pay farmers if export income goes down.

General farm groups are raising concerns about retaliation, but they also emphasized the need to press for greater market access as well. Within the cattle industry, two groups that seldom agree on anything both praised the president's actions.

The 400-page 2025 National Trade Estimate Report released by the U.S. Trade Representative's Office examines trade barriers in nearly 50 countries along with the European Union. The report comes as the Trump administration is preparing to release more extensive tariff plans...

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spent Monday in Iowa touting investments in biofuels as a way to increase demand for farm products. Rollins acknowledged USDA is getting ready for possible trade retaliation as President Donald Trump readies his tariff announcement on...

USDA has announced the department will join the Department of Education in investigating whether a California law over gender identification violates federal law and Trump's executive orders against transgender policies. USDA made the same moves earlier this month in Maine.

After months of freezing funds for the Rural Energy For America Program (REAP), Empowering Rural America (New ERA) and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) programs, USDA issued a news release late Tuesday stating Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins "will release...

A letter from Democratic senators to USDA challenges the department for freezing or canceling roughly $1 billion that would have provided more food to local food banks nationally. USDA has not responded to questions about the canceled food-bank and local-food contracts.

Under ECAP, farmers are receiving pre-filled applications in the mail or visiting their local FSA offices directly to fill out the paperwork necessary. USDA officials last week said once the application has been approved, ECAP payments could show up in accounts within three working...

USDA on Friday highlighted new leadership in the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) roles. Rollins also announced Thursday that applications are now open for $100 million in research grants to explore avian influenza prevention, therapeutics, research, and potential vaccine...

Agricultural groups on Wednesday championed National Ag Trade Day as part of National Ag Week. The group Farmers for Free Trade hosted a webinar examining some of the challenges facing farmers in the current trade landscape.

Based on the per-acre payment details released Tuesday by USDA on the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, a lot of the early estimates of payments overall were in the ballpark. Signup for ECAP begins on Wednesday.

On its website, DOGE shows it has ended 111 USDA office contracts across nine agencies, amounting to just under $27.4 million in annual rental payments with total contract savings estimated at $59.2 million.

An interview with the president of the National Farmers Union as the group's annual conference wrapped up Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Rob Larew said NFU is focused on the farm bill, but he also believes there remains a role for climate-smart agricultural policies in the Trump...

The president of the National Farmers Union highlighted the need for his members to remain united during the current uncertainty in the Trump administration. NFU also recognized the work of former Senator Tom Harkin, who created the Conservation Stewardship program when he...

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced details of the new Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, or ECAP, as she spoke Sunday to a packed exhibit hall of farmers and vendors at the Commodity Classic show in Denver. The program will provide $10 billion to commodity crop...