In the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has rolled out a five point plan to lower the cost of eggs, worked to expand market access for American farmers, and empowered rural communities. Secretary Rollins also previewed her vision for restoring rural prosperity to America, affirming the importance of the President’s efforts to rein in out-of-control government spending and federal overreach to return more power to the people.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a second round of payments coming this week for specialty crop producers through the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program, providing up to $1.3 billion in additional program assistance. U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) already delivered just under $900 million in first round payments to eligible producers.
The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is pleased to announce the launch of LaborLink, a new member benefit designed to help agricultural retailers address one of their most urgent operational challenges: securing reliable labor. Through a partnership with másLabor, the nation’s leading provider of H-2 visa services, ARA members now have direct access to expert support in navigating H-2 visa processes.
The Commerce Department’s intent to terminate the U.S.-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement affirms fair and competitive trade, upholds the rule of law, and restores integrity in our agricultural markets, according to Robert Guenther, Executive Vice President of the Florida Tomato Exchange. Guenther said while originally intended to address unfair trade, the Suspension Agreement has repeatedly failed to protect American tomato farmers from unfairly-priced Mexican imports.
Bayer announced that Guru Ramamurthy will become the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Bayer’s Crop Science division. He will succeed Oliver Rittgen who has decided to pursue a career opportunity outside of Bayer after 25 years with the company. In his current role, Guru Ramamurthy is serving as CFO of Bayer US. The change will become effective as of July 1, 2025.
The World Food Prize Foundation announced the appointment of Mexico’s former Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Víctor Villalobos Arambula to the Foundation’s Council of Advisors.
Agri-Pulse is pleased to announce a new webinar, “Economic Stakes: How Thoroughbred Racing Fuels Rural Economies” on May 19 at 12:30 CT/1:30 ET. Free registration is available here. The webinar is sponsored by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, and the Breeders’ Cup.
Fashion industry veteran and sustainability expert Liz Hershfield will lead Cotton Council International (CCI), the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America (NCC), as its new Executive Director. Hershfield succeeds Bruce Atherley, who retired at the end of March.
From Monday, May 5 to Friday, May 9, National Farmers Union (NFU) will hold a full week-long slate of events, programming, and meetings in Washington and across the country to urge Congress to pass a comprehensive, five-year farm bill and ease the burden on family farmers and ranchers.
