President Donald J. Trump, alongside U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $8 billion available for one-time payments to American farmers this harvest season to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased input costs. Similar to the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program, the Harvest Fuel Relief (HFR) program will provide simple, proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2026 crop year.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins visited Giesenschlag Farms in Caldwell, Texas, where she announced two new actions under the Great American Cotton Plan to strengthen support for American cotton producers. To learn more, please view the Great American Cotton Plan.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it is awarding $86.6 million in grant funding to support the specialty crop industry through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The program funds innovative projects designed to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. For more information and to view a complete list of funded projects, visit the AMS SCBGP webpage.
5by5, part of the 3LS Inc. family of employee-owned Changemaker companies, together with C.O.nxt and Jigsaw, the agencies of The Charleston Orwig Collective, announced that the award-winning marketing and communications agencies will join forces.
Woody Larson, of Okeechobee, Florida, has been selected as the overall winner of the Sunbelt Ag Expo Farmer of the Year award for 2026. Growing up in a dairy farming family, Woody Larson always knew he wanted to farm. As a young child he’d sweep the feed room floor, bagging the sweepings to feed the dry cows for 15 cents a day. While his family roots run deep in agriculture, he knew he would have to make his own path to continue his family’s legacy. Through buying, selling, and saving on the side, all while working full-time at the dairy, he slowly but steadily developed his farming portfolio. Fifty years later, he is an owner and serves as President of Larson Dairy Inc. and several cattle ranches.
The Plant Based Products Council (PBPC) released its 2026 Consumer Trends Research, finding that Americans’ interest in plant-based products continues to grow, with 87 percent of consumers viewing plant-based products favorably and 75 percent saying they are familiar with products and materials made from plants.
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) announced that Dr. Keri Jacobs will join the organization effective January 1, 2027, as the vice president of education and the executive director of the NCFC Education Foundation.
Syngenta North America Crop Protection is proud to announce that Kathy Eichlin, Head of Corporate & Crop Protection Communications, North America has been awarded the Talent & Workforce Leadership Award presented by Women in Agribusiness.
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol announced the first measured outcomes of U.S. Regen™ Cotton at the Textile Exchange Conference in Vancouver. U.S. Regen™, introduced in 2025, is grown under the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, builds on the program’s established Principles and Criteria, and adds regenerative requirements. Field-level data was collected from 59,094 harvested acres on 469 fields across seven major U.S. cotton-growing states through the Field Partner Program pilot. The findings show that U.S. Regen™ cotton was produced with 20 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions, 30 percent greater soil carbon sequestration, 75 percent lower soil loss, and a 49 percent improvement in water-use efficiency compared to the established baseline.
American Farmland Trust (AFT) announces the winners of the 18th annual America’s Farmers Market Celebration™, a national event honoring the role of farmers markets, which ran between August 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026. Ten markets receiving the most public votes are declared the national winners.
