U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday that the Department of Agriculture is preparing to reopen the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, port of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. The agency said that operations will start slowly with an initial limit of 750 head of cattle per day.
Rural America
Judge Considering Temporary Pause to USDA Reorganization
A federal judge in San Francisco is considering a temporary pause of the Agriculture Department’s imminent plans to relocate employees across the country. He said an administrative stay “doesn’t say anything about the merits” of the case, but would give him more time to “adjudicate this properly.”
Farmers Struggling to Get Services from Depleted USDA Workforce
Across the country, farmers and rural residents describe struggling to obtain the basic services the Agriculture Department is meant to offer, including loans and grants, technical assistance and financing for housing and utilities.
Cattle Producers, Lawmakers Condemn Trump’s New Beef Import Plan
President Donald Trump said on Friday he will temporarily ease beef tariffs to help lower prices, although U.S. cattle producers warned the move would hurt efforts to rebuild herds and economists said it would have little effect on prices.
Corn Futures Above $5 for First Time in 18 Months
Corn futures topped the $5-a-bushel mark for the first time in 18 months as weaker-than-expected US crop tour results add to global supply concerns for the staple grain.
Inflation-Adjusted Midwest Farmland Values Fall Most Since 2016
When adjusted for inflation, values in the Federal Reserve’s Seventh District fell 3.7% year over year in the second quarter of 2026 — the steepest real decline in a decade — even as demand from data centers and solar farms helped prop up prices.
Tractor Sales Fall in July Amid Continued Ag Economy Pressure
U.S. tractor sales were down 10.9%, while combine sales fell 5.3% year-over-year in July 2026, according to sales data the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) released this week.
Tyson to Close or Sell Three Beef Facilities Amid Cattle Shortage
Tyson Foods said on Thursday it will close or sell three of its beef plant and packaging operation sites, further shrinking its beef footprint as a historic U.S. cattle shortage deepens losses for the largest U.S. meatpacker.
USDA Reports Largest-Ever Combined Corn & Soy Planted Acreage
USDA found an additional 1.4 million planted acres for both the corn and soybean crops to increase the corn crop slightly and boost the soybean crop to the largest in U.S. history. The combined planted acreage of the corn and soybean crops is now 183.5 million acres, more than 3 million acres higher than the previous combined crop record.
Texas Screwworm Sterile Fly Facility to Open 7 Months Ahead of Schedule
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a post on X on Monday that a Texas facility to breed sterile flies to combat screwworm will open ahead of schedule in spring 2027. Previously, the agency said the plant would open at the end of next year.
Senate Farm Bill Fails, Ag Committee to Vote Again in September
Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) said he will reconvene committee members in September to vote again on his farm bill package after it failed to advance Thursday.
USDA Providing 60-Day Extension to Pay Crop Insurance Premiums
Farmers will get a two-month reprieve on their crop insurance premiums this year and USDA will also reinstate prevented planting buy-up coverage as well, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Tuesday.
ADM, Corteva Raise 2026 Profit Forecasts on Strong Processing and Seed Demand Outlooks
Major global agribusinesses over the past week have raised their 2026 profit forecasts on strong oilseed processing outlooks and strong demand across key crop markets, particularly in the United States.
Bayer Wins Supreme Court Roundup Case to Limit Lawsuits
The Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision on Thursday said Bayer cannot be sued over state-level claims that the company failed to warn of cancer risks from its weedkiller Roundup and its chemical glyphosate.
Farm Production Costs to Hit Record Highs in 2027, USDA Says
USDA’s new 2027 cost of production forecast reveals farmers may not see meaningful relief from elevated production costs anytime soon. The projections show total production costs continuing to rise for most major crops, pushing all commodities to record highs — including corn at $952 per acre, soybeans at $701, sorghum at $477 and wheat at $428.
USDA to Move Much of FAS, Rural Development out of DC
The USDA plans to relocate “much of” the Foreign Agricultural Service’s Washington D.C.-based workforce to Kansas City, Missouri, and Beltsville, Maryland, as part of its reorganization plan, the agency announced Wednesday.
Screwworm Confirmed in New Mexico for First Time
The USDA confirmed an additional three cases of New World screwworm — including the first outside of Texas, in New Mexico — bringing the total number of detections in the US to five and raising concerns over a broader spread of the parasite.
New World Screwworm Case Confirmed in U.S.
USDA confirmed the first detection of New World screwworm in the United States in decades after identifying the pest in a 3-week-old calf in South Texas, prompting an aggressive federal and state response aimed at containing the outbreak of the parasitic insect.
New World Screwworm Found 31 Miles from US Border
A devastating parasitic fly — the New World Screwworm — that eats warm-blooded animals alive and could cause millions of dollars in economic damage to the U.S. economy has been found in a young sheep in Mexico within 31 miles of the U.S. border, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Friday.
Farm Bankruptcies Hit Six-Year High in April
During the month of April, 62 bankruptcies were launched under Chapter 12, a 130% jump from April 2025 and the highest monthly total since February 2020. That figure is also 82% higher than the 34 Chapter 12 filings in March 2026, the data showed.