U.S. Department of Agriculture leaders delivered an upbeat update to a crowd at the Commodity Classic trade show last week, emphasizing technology upgrades, streamlined programs, and a renewed “farmer-first” focus under the second Trump administration. Undersecretary of Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Richard Fordyce opened the session by noting FPAC’s creation during the first Trump term to unite the three …
Secretary Rollins Launches ‘One Farmer, One File’ at Classic
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled USDA’s new “One Farmer, One File” initiative Thursday at the 2026 Commodity Classic, promising a single streamlined digital record that follows producers across all agency systems and slashes paperwork burdens. Rollins described the multi-year modernization as a direct response to decades of fractured IT infrastructure — 500 custom systems managed by 1,000+ contractors at …
Trump Signs Bill Putting Whole Milk Back in Schools
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 into law, allowing whole and 2% milk to return to America’s schools where it has been banned since 2012 under President Obama. “This is the first bill signing of the new year, and it will ensure that millions of school aged children have access …
USDA Secretary Addresses Key Issues at AFBF Convention
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins addressed the American Farm Bureau Federation convention for the first time Monday, hitting on key issues being discussed by the nation’s largest general farm organization this week. Rollins started with the bad news. “All of America is under threat when American agriculture is under threat. And there’s no doubt that right now, American agriculture, …
Trump Announces Bridge Payments for American Farmers
During a Monday round table with cabinet members, farmers and lawmakers, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $12 billion available in one-time bridge payments to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. President Trump said the $12 billion represents a relatively small portion of what the United States …
Battle Over Beef
There’s been a lot of back and forth about beef this week between the Trump administration and the U.S. beef cattle industry after President Trump suggested importing beef from Argentina to address high prices. “We would buy some beef from Argentina. If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down,” Trump said to reporters on Sunday. “The National …
MAHA Report Focuses on Science and Research
The Make America Healthy Again Commission released its Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy on Tuesday with more than 120 initiatives to “advance gold-standard science, realign incentives, increase public awareness, and strengthen private-sector collaboration.” “This strategy represents the most sweeping reform agenda in modern history—realigning our food and health systems, driving education, and unleashing science to protect America’s children and …
USDA Deputy Secretary at Farm Progress Show
USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden filled in for his boss at the 2025 Farm Progress Show Tuesday, chatting on the mainstage with Mike Pearson of This Week in AgriBusiness and answering question from farm reporters on site. The first topic addressed was New World Screwworm in light of the latest headlines about human case in Maryland. “So the …
USDA Forecasts Record Corn Crop
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is forecasting a record corn crop this year, up 13% from last year, forecast at 16.7 billion bushels. Meanwhile, soybean growers are expected to decrease their production by two percent from 2024 to 4.29 billion bushels. Average corn yield is forecast at a record high 188.8 bushels per acre, up 9.5 bushels from last …
Alltech Gets USDA Grant for Biological Fertilizer Production
Alltech has been awarded a $2.34 million grant from the USDA’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) to expand Alltech Crop Science’s (ACS) biological fertilizer production in Kentucky. The funding will support the construction of a new $4.6 million, 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility dedicated to producing biological fertilizers and crop inputs. Located on the campus of Alltech’s global headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky, …