USDA & Agricultural policy

A new producer-led advisory group met this month to focus on strengthening health across the U.S. swine herd and to steer the industry's National Swine Health Strategy. The group will provide oversight for the initiative and prioritize actions producers identified as most urgent. 27-membe...

Western cattle and sheep producers may see more flexibility on public lands after a move to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule and propose updates to federal grazing regulations. Grazing rule update has supporters who say it restores BLM’s multiple-use focu...

Texas shrimpers at Port Isabel say a persistent labor shortage is putting pressure on the Gulf shrimp fleet and prompting calls for more temporary visas to staff boats and processing operations. The Texas Shrimp Association says the industry needs 100 additional H-2B visas this y...

The administration has delayed executive orders that would have lowered tariffs on imported beef, according to reporting in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. The measures were intended to expand imports and ease consumer beef prices as part of broader efforts to address food-cost concerns. <...

Illinois farmland sales in 2026 remain unpredictable as weak on-farm returns and rising costs push buyers and sellers into a cautious stance. University of Illinois farmdoc corn and soybean budgets are showing losses for crop enterprises, placing pressure on operator balance sheets. Negat...

USDA's organic label continues to carry strong consumer trust, but the bar for entering that market has risen. The Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule has expanded oversight across the supply chain and made fraud-prevention measures a core compliance obligation. New and transitioning growers m...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture published a Final Rule on May 8, 2026 that expands fluid milk options in federal child nutrition programs to include whole and 2% milk varieties in the school breakfast, Special Milk and Child and Adult Care Food programs, a move the National Milk Producers Fede...

The Illinois Department of Agriculture will distribute more than $796,000 over the next three years to expand access to fresh, locally grown produce and strengthen the state's specialty crop sector, officials said. An application will be available this week on the IDOA website and must be returne...

John Bode, CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, says federal policy is falling short when it comes to protecting market access for U.S. agricultural producers. He told Brownfield the industry needs clearer, evidence-based tools to shore up demand for corn products at home and abroad. Ris...

Agri-Pulse will bring industry leaders, university deans and state and federal officials together in Sacramento for the Food & Ag Issues Summit on June 2, 2026 . The one-day event is designed to spotlight university research and workforce development while convening panels on poli...

Debate over whether Congress should pass a traditional multi-year Farm Bill or rely on reconciliation and ad hoc disaster aid has intensified in 2026 after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) tactics seen in 2025. Producers, lenders and state agencies are weighing the trade-offs between long-t...

Drought, border closures, New World screwworm outbreaks, imported beef and wildfires have squeezed U.S. cattle supply and stirred volatility across the market. Feedlots in Iowa and the Corn Belt are operating below capacity and packers are adjusting to tighter supplies, a situation made sharper b...