The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI) a $2.99 million grant, using FY2025 funding appropriated by Congress, to expand SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives (HFMI) projects across 169 SNAP-authorized retail stores in nine states. The award includes 75 new HFMI locations in Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma, along with the renewal of …
Animal Ag News 3/30
As of March 1, there were 74.3 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up slightly from March 2025 but down 1% from Dec. 1, 2025, according to the latest Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Breeding inventory, at 5.89 million head, was down 1 percent from last year, …
Animal Ag News 3/17
The 2026 World Pork Expo, presented by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), is gearing up for an exciting, action-packed event that will bring together pork producers, industry professionals, and innovators. Set for June 3-4 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, this year’s Expo promises to be bigger and better than ever, offering a fresh perspective on …
World Without Cows Ireland: The Pasture Paradox
Special message from Dr. Mark Lyons on this St. Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick’s Day is, at its heart, a celebration of faith — and across Ireland, that spirit lives on in its people, its communities and the land they care for. This St. Patrick’s Day, we’re sharing a first look at World Without Cows Ireland: The Pasture Paradox, the next …
Animal Ag News 3/2
The dairy checkoff has unveiled Dairy Does More, a national marketing communications platform to help grow demand by reshaping how consumers think about dairy foods. Developed by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), the initiative brings to life the Undeniably Dairy brand in a contemporary way and reflects a long-term strategy to strengthen dairy’s role in modern lifestyles. As part of the …
Animal Ag News 2/20
House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson released the text of Farm Bill 2.0 (the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026). The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomes the provisions that strengthen the agriculture measures included in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced proposed updates to federal line speed regulations in poultry …
Industry Awards at 2026 CattleCon
The Prime Cut Awards ceremony was a new feature this year at the 2026 CattleCon, honoring legacy, leadership and excellence in the industry with a variety of awards. The Greg Henderson Excellence in Agricultural Journalism Award was presented this year to Burt Rutherford, a freelance writer and former senior editor of BEEF magazine who has spent his career helping producers …
Animal Ag News 2/10
At Moore Air Base, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and Governor of Texas Greg Abbott celebrated a significant achievement in the fight against New World Screwworm (NWS) with the completion of a U.S.-based sterile fly dispersal facility in Edinburg, Texas. This facility expands USDA’s ability to disperse sterile flies along the border and into the United States, if …
CattleFax Outlook from CattleCon
The CattleFax Outlook Seminar is always a popular event at CattleCon and it was packed as usual last week in Nashville. CEO Randy Blach told cattle producers they should be proud of the current state of the beef industry. “This is my 45th year at CattleFax, so I’ve seen some of those ugly, ugly days back in the 80s and …
RFK Jr. Gets Warm Welcome at CattleCon
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received a warm welcome from some 9,000 attendees at CattleCon in Nashville on Thursday, in light of his agency’s new dietary guidelines that turned the food pyramid on its head. “We now have a food pyramid, which we flipped upside down, because it made more sense. That puts protein at the …