Chris Clayton

South Dakota ranchers Charles and Heather Maude were facing federal theft charges over a fence line dispute with the U.S. Forest Service that involved a center pivot on their ground that crossed over into government land. The...

Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, told members of the North American Agricultural Journalists on Tuesday that he plans to integrate updates to reference prices and other safety net programs...

A former assistant U.S. trade representative for agriculture spoke to reporters Monday about some of the complications facing U.S. agricultural exports. China remains a critical trade opportunity going forward even though exports...

In a letter Saturday to Mexican Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Julio Antonio Berdegue Sacristan, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned that the U.S. will again shut off imports of Mexican livestock if the...

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...

USDA, EPA, and the departments of Energy, Interior and Housing and Urban Development are enjoined from freezing, halting or pausing funding that has already been awarded under the Inflation Reduction Act or the Infrastructure...

The website Government Executive, which covers the federal workforce, first reported Tuesday that White House documents from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposes to slash local Farm Service Agency staff and...

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...

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...

New Chinese tariffs set Wednesday more than double the cost for Chinese buyers to import U.S. soybeans, but that didn't stop soybean futures from climbing higher. Still, farmers are voicing concerns about long-term risks if the...

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer defended President Donald Trump's tariff policies at a hearing Tuesday, drawing attacks from Democrats over tariffs while some Republican senators also voiced skepticism or expressed...

President Donald Trump on April 2 announced a minimum 10% tariff on at least 60 countries but laid out a range of different tariffs for countries and trading blocs, including higher tariffs on China, Japan and the European Union...

The USDA Office of the Secretary provided employees this week with new details on another Deferred Resignation Program (DRP 2.0) and offered some broad details about the larger shakeup in USDA staff. Citing President Donald...

Under China's announcement on Friday, soybean sales to China could face a 49% tariff starting April 10. Once other tariffs are factored in, the U.S. Meat Export Federation noted beef exports to China could face a 56% tariff, and...

A letter from farm groups draws a fine line of supporting the president's trade goals while fearing the worst ramifications for the ag economy.

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...

The Social Security Administration is apparently backtracking from an announcement earlier this month that recipients could no longer use telephone services to confirm their identification or change direct-deposit information.

Starting March 31, the Social Security Administration will no longer allow benefit recipients to use telephone services to confirm their identification or change direct-deposit information. Beneficiaries instead will have to use a...

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...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hear from more than 60 witnesses on Monday and Wednesday at a hearing over Section 301 Proposed Actions against China on maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. Agricultural...

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced $280 million in funding to Texas farmers on Wednesday. The funding will be provided to the Texas Department of Agriculture, which will distribute grants to producers for lost water...

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.

Producers should see payments as early as this week under the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, according to USDA. The $10 billion economic aid package was passed by Congress in December to address financial losses from...

A directive from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will allow faster line speeds at pork and poultry processing plants nationally. Rollins said the decision will ensure the industry can meet demand without facing more government...

The cancellation of $1 billion from a pair of USDA local food programs will leave local food banks and schools with less access to local foods. It will also affect roughly 10,000 farms.

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...

EPA on Wednesday announced a flurry of actions to roll back regulatory standards tied to emissions from power plants, vehicles and industries. In each action, EPA stated the agency will revisit or reconsider the specific rule. EPA...

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Wednesday announced the latest attempt to write a new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. Zeldin said the new rule will more closely align with the Supreme Court ruling on Sackett v EPA that...

The U.S. exports about $13 billion in agricultural goods to the EU, but only soybeans and almonds top $1 billion in value. Both are included in the long list of products the EU listed for retaliatory tariffs to start in April.

Members of the National Farmers Union and speakers at the group's national meeting questioned the legality of USDA canceling signed contracts and the ramifications for farmers from such actions. Meanwhile, DOGE is now moving to...

The Merit Systems Protection Board issued an order Wednesday requiring USDA to bring back nearly 5,700 fired probationary workers. Yet, the board chair who made the ruling and the special counsel who defended USDA employees are...

The Merit Systems Protection Board issued an order Wednesday requiring USDA to bring back nearly 5,700 fired probationary workers to their jobs for at least the next 45 days while the board continues its investigation over how...

Corn and soybean producers are heading into planting season facing losses. There's a lot of concern about losing export demand right now. Economists for corn and soybean groups stress the need for demand and the importance of...

The Commodity Classic meeting, mainly representing corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum commodity producers, is on pace to draw a record 11,000 farmers at the convention's first event in Denver. Producers at the convention are...

Treasury officials released details on Sunday stating they will waive enforcement penalties and will not enforce the beneficial ownership information rule against U.S. citizens or domestic companies going forward. The BOI rule was...

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...

USDA had already spent $1.8 billion to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) before the department announced this week $1 billion on a new plan. State agricultural directors who have been dealing with avian influenza for...

USDA released its Grain and Oilseeds Outlook early Thursday, offering USDA's first estimates of the 2025-26 crop year. USDA releases the forecasts as part of its Agricultural Outlook Forum.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke laid out a plan that would provide more funds to poultry producers for biosecurity and indemnities. USDA also will increase imports of eggs and reduce egg exports.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller talked about the death of a rancher on Tuesday at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) winter policy conference in Washington. Miller warned Texas farmers...

In a 217-215 vote, The House on Tuesday evening passed a budget bill allowing for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts while the bill also presses cuts to an array of social programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance...

Canada's agricultural minister talked about the benefits of North American agricultural trade and the disruption that 25% tariffs could cause. President Donald Trump said Monday those tariffs are set to go into effect next week.

When the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced on social media it wanted help examining USDA, critics of commodity checkoff programs quickly pounced.

When the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced on social media it wanted help examining USDA, critics of commodity checkoff programs quickly pounced.

The Trump administration has not provided details on when or how it will release more than $30 billion in economic and disaster aid passed by Congress in December. On Thursday, USDA released $20 million in conservation dollars that...

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, Treasury updated its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) website, stating most companies now have a March 21, 2025, deadline to file their beneficial ownership information (BOI). Treasury also stated...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for "radical transparency" to shed light on what he views as wasteful spending across federal agencies. For people and groups impacted, they see the cuts in a different light. That...

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a petition with three separate federal agencies to ban the use of certain pesticides on food, notably atrazine, glyphosate and paraquat. The petition does not include the use of...

On Fox and Friends Weekend, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pulled out a chart showing the price of eggs going back 40 years and the price spike that began in 2014 when the first stretch of avian influenza hit. The chart...

Employees in agencies across USDA were fired on Feb. 13 and 14 as the Trump administration moved to slash 200,000 or so workers who were in probationary periods for their jobs. For most employees, that meant they were new hires...

A group of Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that would move the Food for Peace program from USAID over to the Department of Agriculture. The move would help ensure continuity of $2 billion in commodity purchases every year...

Texas native Brooke Rollins was confirmed as the 33rd Agriculture secretary and the second woman to hold the post following Ann Veneman in the early 2000s. Senators voted 72-28 to confirm her Thursday.

Conservation and rural energy programs are frozen at USDA, though department officials have declined to provide public details about which programs are affected. The Trump administration is now in a standoff with federal courts...

Texas farmers are battling PFAS contamination from biosolid fertilizers, leading to cattle deaths, poisoned water, and health issues. They are suing the EPA and the company that spread biosolid fertilizer in their area. This week...

The Trump administration has frozen all international aid and at least temporarily shut down the agency. USAID buys about $2 billion a year in commodities, mainly small grains and pulse crops.

Farmers are learning their conservation payments are frozen because those contracts were funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The White House has frozen IRA dollars across the federal government. Other...

Farmers representing several major commodity groups and farm organizations had a unified plea on Wednesday as they told U.S. senators that they are losing money and the current farm bill doesn't provide the support they need...

President Donald Trump came to terms with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday afternoon after reaching a deal with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier in the day. The deals will delay tariffs for at least one...

A quick deal announced Monday by President Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum means there will be no immediate tariffs for now. Meanwhile, the Canadian government on Sunday released a list of products to be subject to...

President Donald Trump signed three executive orders Saturday imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China. By Sunday, Canadians were vowing to pull American liquor off shelves, and Mexico was looking at...

Grain, dairy and oil markets all reacted negatively Friday to news Trump would place 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico as soon as Saturday. The White House press secretary confirmed tariffs on trading partners would begin...