Newsweek’s Jasmine Laws reported Tuesday that wholesale “egg prices in the U.S. have fallen to $3.45 per dozen, reaching their lowest level in nearly five months, following a period of price volatility fueled by supply chain issues, bird flu outbreaks, and fluctuating consumer demand.” “Egg prices have experienced extreme fluctuations over the past year. On […]
Ryan Hanrahan
Ryan Hanrahan is the Farm Policy News editor and social media director for the farmdoc project. He has previously worked in local news, primarily as an agriculture journalist in the American West. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri (B.S. Science & Agricultural Journalism). He can be reached at rrh@illinois.edu.
USDA Economic Assistance Applications Now Open
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture will on Wednesday begin accepting applications from farmers affected by low commodity prices for economic aid passed by Congress last year, an agency official said on Tuesday.” “The stop-gap government funding package passed by Congress last December included $10 billion for economic assistance, a supplement […]
USDA Economic Aid Applications Expected by Friday
UPDATE (11:30 am EST): Agri-Pulse’s Philip Brasher reports that “Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins used National Ag Day on Tuesday to announce the release of $10 billion in economic assistance payments for growers of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice and other field crops.” “The payments were authorized by Congress in a year-end spending bill in December. […]
100+ USDA Offices Face Lease Termination from DOGE
Successful Farming’s Mariah Squire reported late last week that “more than 100 USDA agency offices are some of the latest to be selected by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for lease termination. They’re on a list of nearly 750 government offices on the department’s ‘Wall of Receipts’ falling under the real estate category.” “Agencies […]
Trump EPA to Again Rewrite WOTUS Rule
Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “for the fourth time in the past decade, the Environmental Protection Agency will write a new rule for regulating waters of the United States, one that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said will closely align with a Supreme Court decision and alleviate regulatory risks for farmers.” “Zeldin on Wednesday announced […]
Canada May Hit US Ethanol With Retaliatory Tariffs
Reuters’ Jarrett Renshaw and Arathy Somasekhar reported Tuesday that “Canada could impose non-tariff measures such as restricting its oil exports to the United States or levying export duties on products if a trade dispute with the U.S. escalates further, Canada’s energy minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Tuesday.” “‘When we are talking about non-tariff retaliation, it […]
Tariffs Threaten Shift to Higher Corn Acres in 2025
Bloomberg’s Kim Chipman reported late last week that “President Donald Trump’s slew of tariffs means American farmers may not make that big shift to corn after all. Growers were widely expected to plant the most corn in five years due to tighter supplies. Now levies on some products from Canada, Mexico and China have shifted […]
USDA Planning to Terminate Leases for Dozens of FSA, NRCS Offices
AgDaily reported last week that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun listing planned lease terminations to impact 59 Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service offices as part of an effort to cut costs, according to the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) website.” “The move is part of the Trump administration’s initiative to […]
Trump Delays Some Mexico, Canada Tariffs, Lowers Potash Duty
Agri-Pulse’s Oliver Ward reported that “President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday postponing tariffs for products arriving from Mexico and Canada that are covered by a North American trade pact by a month, while lowering the duty to be applied to potash imports.” “‘Anything that was covered under the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada] agreement is exempt […]
USDA Ordered to Reinstate 5,000+ Probationary Workers
Bloomberg Law’s Courtney Rozen reported Wednesday that “thousands of Department of Agriculture employees terminated under the Trump administration will return to their positions for now, after an independent commission said their firing broke the laws that shield career staff from political influence.” “The Merit Systems Protection Board, which mediates disputes between federal agencies and their […]
U.S. Company BlackRock Buying Panama Canal Ports
Somewhat overshadowed by yesterday’s busy day of tariff news, the Associated Press’ Didi Tang and Alex Veiga reported that “a Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control after President […]
Canada & Mexico Tariffs Take Effect, China Hits Back at US Ag
The Associated Press’ Josh Boak, Paul Wiseman and Rob Gillies reported that “President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies.” “Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be […]
China Readying Tariff Countermeasures on US Agriculture
Reuters’ Joe Cash, Mei Mei Chu and Xiuhao Chen reported that “China has American agricultural exports in its cross hairs as it prepares countermeasures against fresh U.S. import tariffs, China’s state-backed Global Times reported, raising the stakes in an escalating trade war between the world’s top two economies.” “U.S. President Donald Trump last week threatened […]
Canada and Mexico Tariffs Will Start March 4, Trump Confirms
Reuters’ Jeff Mason, Andrea Shalal and David Lawder reported that “U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on Tuesday, along with an extra 10% duty on Chinese imports because deadly drugs are still pouring into the U.S. from those countries.” “The fresh China […]
USDA Investing $1 Billion & Increasing Egg Imports to Fight Bird Flu
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported Wednesday morning that “the U.S. will invest up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu, including increasing imports of eggs, agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday.” “The USDA will spend up to $500 million to provide free biosecurity audits to farms and $400 million to increase payment […]
Lawmakers Worry House Budget Plan Could Tank New Farm Bill
Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported Monday that “key House Republicans are growing increasingly worried that planned cuts to a popular food aid program under the GOP’s reconciliation package could sink hopes for a new farm bill at a time when the party is in a strong position to shape the legislation.” The budget plan that was […]
Trump Says 25% Canada, Mexico Tariffs ‘Going Forward’
Reuters’ David Lawder and Andrea Shalal reported that “President Donald Trump said on Monday that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are ‘on time and on schedule’ despite efforts by the countries to beef up border security and halt the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. ahead of a March 4 deadline. ‘The tariffs are […]
Farm Bankruptcies Increased 55% in 2024
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s Samantha Ayoub reported last week that “the U.S. Courts report that 216 farm bankruptcies were filed in 2024, up 55% from 2023. This is still 64% lower than the all-time high of 599 filings in 2019. However, 2024 is the end of a four-year downward trend in bankruptcies, which appears […]
USDA Releasing $20 Million of Frozen Conservation Funds
Reuters’ P.J. Huffstutter reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release approximately $20 million in funding for previously approved contracts that had been frozen by the Trump administration’s push to overhaul the federal government, the agency said late on Thursday.” “The sum represents a tiny sliver of program funding the USDA suspended after the […]
USDA Accidentally Fires Bird Flu Response Workers
NBC News’ Allan Smith, Melanie Zanona and Laura Strickler reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that, over the weekend, it accidentally fired ‘several’ agency employees who are working on the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. The agency said it is now trying to quickly reverse the firings.” “‘Although […]