USDA & Agricultural policy
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Rollins Signals Possible Action on Fertilizer Prices
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that the USDA and other agencies are working on short-term measures to help lower fertilizer costs and that an announcement could come soon. She said addressing fertilizer prices will require a significant, coordinated... -
Tracking Farmer Bridge Assistance Payments
USDA’s bridge program for row crop producers has delivered substantial aid as farm finances deteriorate. The department set aside $11 billion for row crops within the broader bridge package, and FSA reports that $9.6 billion disbursed has gone to approved applica... -
USDA $300M Palantir Pact; Afresh Raises $34M
AgriFood Signals: a run-down of the latest U.S.-focused agtech funding, deals and policy moves. The bulletin highlights a major USDA agreement with Palantir, fresh venture capital for grocery AI and a corporate carbon-credit purchase tied to rice farming. Industry funding rounds, M&A and sustaina... -
USDA Seeks Nominees for Sorghum Checkoff Board
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking nominees for the United Sorghum Checkoff Program Board to fill five seats with terms expiring in December 2026. Five seats available The call for nominees is part of the AMS oversight role for commodit... -
America Grows Act boosts USDA research funding
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) this month reintroduced the America Grows Act, a bipartisan bill that would require a 5% annual increase plus inflation each year for the next 10 years for research activities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Both sena... -
H-2A Wage Rule Cuts Farmworker Pay Up to $5
Joe Petrocco, a fourth-generation vegetable grower in Brighton, Colorado, says the spring planting season comes with mixed pressure: soaring input costs and a welcome drop in labor expenses. Federal changes to the H-2A temporary farmworker wage calculation will reduce pay in many places by a thir... -
Lawmakers and Ag Groups Push Farm-Bill Fix for Prop 12
A broad coalition of farmers, veterinarians and federal and state officials is pressing Congress to include language in the farm bill that would protect U.S. pork producers from California’s Proposition 12. Advocates say the measure has created a patchwork state laws problem and ...