After clearing their agriculture megabill hurdle, Republicans are looking to pass a smaller farm bill that includes some key policies that haven’t been updated since the last farm bill was passed in 2018.
Politics
Trump Reiterates Willingness to Let Migrant Laborers Stay on Farms
President Donald Trump again said on Thursday that he is willing to let migrant laborers stay in the United States if the farmers they work for will vouch for them.
Congress Passes Megabill with Significant Farm Program Funding
House GOP leaders overcame Republican objections to Senate provisions on SNAP, rural hospitals and other issues to clear President Donald Trump’s massive spending and tax package, including a historic infusion of new farm program funding.
Senate Prepares to Vote on Budget Bill with Farm Safety Net Improvements
Senators will begin their vote-a-rama on the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ at 9 a.m. Monday. The driver behind the bill is to prevent the 2017 tax cuts from expiring, but the bill plusses up some tax cuts while also cutting spending for Medicaid and food programs for low-income people.
Senate Ag’s SNAP Cost-Share Plan Approved by Parliamentarian
The Senate parliamentarian on Thursday approved Republicans’ tweaked plan to push some costs of the nation’s anti-hunger program onto states, allowing them to maintain a crucial $41 billion spending cut that will help pay for their policy megabill.
Global Urea Prices Surge on Middle East Conflict
Global prices of key fertilizer ingredient urea have surged alongside escalating violence in the Middle East, which threatens to choke supplies of the crop nutrient from a significant producing and exporting region.
Trump Again Considering Immigration Relief for Farmworkers
President Donald Trump again is saying he wants to shield farmers from the effects of his crackdown on illegal immigration, just days after his administration reinstated workplace raids on agricultural operations.
ICE Reverses Exemption of Ag from Immigration Raids
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday told staff that it was reversing guidance issued last week that agents were not to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels and restaurants.
Iran-Israel Conflict Adds Uncertainty to Fertilizer Market
Renewed conflict in the Middle East has shuttered urea production in Iran, sending ripples through global fertilizer markets and adding to existing uncertainty around Russian and Chinese supplies.
ICE Ordered to Pause Immigration Raids on Ag Businesses
President Donald Trump’s administration has directed immigration officials to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, restaurants and meatpacking plants, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters, a senior Trump official, and a person familiar with the matter.
Immigration Raids Targeting Ag Businesses Increase
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are starting to more aggressively target agriculture and food processing facilities around the country as reports over the past week from (Nebraska), New Mexico and California also highlight.
DOGE Cuts USDA Office Closure List in Half
USDA agencies will close fewer than half the number of offices originally listed by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as cost-saving measures, with at least 61 USDA offices removed from the DOGE website nearly three months after their original listing.
White House Budget Looks to Cut Nearly $7 Billion from USDA
*Editor’s Note: We are aware of some publishing issues currently occurring with the daily email updates from the FarmPolicy News website. We are working to resolve those issues and to restore emails as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “the Trump administration is requesting $23 billion for […]
House Ag Advances Budget Bill that Cuts SNAP Spending
Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported Wednesday night that “the House Agriculture Committee voted 29-25 along party lines to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 billion in food aid spending to pay for Republicans’ domestic policy megabill and some farm bill programs.” “The Wednesday vote sends the measure to the House Budget Committee for […]
No Plans to Close Any FSA Offices, Ag Sec Rollins Says
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported that “U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins at a Senate hearing on Tuesday defended downsizing the USDA and potential cuts to international food aid programs, but said the agency does not plan to close any of its 4,500 offices that serve farmers.” “The USDA has lost more than 15,000 staff to financial […]
More than 15,000 Employees Leaving USDA
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported that “more than 15,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture employees have taken one of the Trump administration’s two financial incentive offers to leave the agency, according to a readout from a USDA briefing with congressional staff seen by Reuters. The sum represents about 15% of the USDA’s total workforce.” “President Donald Trump’s […]
FSA to Require DOGE Approval for Larger Loans
Reuters’ Leah Douglas and P.J. Huffstutter reported that “farm loan employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency will now need approval from billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to issue loans over $500,000, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.” “The April 29 memo sent by Houston Bruck, deputy […]
Trump Says US Could Re-Impose Some Reciprocal Tariffs
CNN’s David Goldman reported Wednesday that “President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he could re-impose ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on some countries in as soon as two or three weeks, a potentially significant re-escalation of the global trade war that has already raised fears of a US and global recession.” “‘In the end, I think what’s going […]
USDA Downsizing Plan to be Ready by Mid-May, Rollins Says
Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks and Steve Davies reported Wednesday that “the Trump administration’s plan for reorganizing and downsizing USDA should be out by the middle of May, and it will likely call for consolidating some programs with other agencies, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.” “During an interview with Agri-Pulse on Tuesday after a series of […]
USDA Ordered to Release Frozen Conservation, Energy Funds
Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks reported that “a federal judge has ordered the Agriculture Department and four other agencies to release frozen funding for Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law conservation and energy programs.” “U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island ordered leaders of USDA to resume processing grants already awarded under the IRA and […]