The cancellation of two programs will affect more than $1 billion in expected funding this year. Food advocates worry the cuts are coming when other federal food programs are at risk.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said earlier this month that economic aid payments Congress approved late last year are on the way. But with days left before the deadline, some farmers are anxiously waiting.
The Closing Market Report turned 40 years old this year.
The Trump administration’s tariff announcements this week are bringing uncertainty to farmers going into planting season. Farm groups warn that retaliatory tariffs will add an additional “burden” to U.S. producers.
Farmers, nonprofits and state agencies received almost $3 billion in grants from the Inflation Reduction Act in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. But recent federal funding freezes have recipients concerned they won’t end up receiving money.
The Illinois Farm Bureau is concerned about harm to the state’s farmers from potential tariffs on the United States’ top three agricultural trading partners: Mexico, Canada and China.
The Soybean Innovation Lab based at the University of Illinois has laid off 30 employees and expects to shut down in the spring if funding isn’t restored.
The amount of American cropland, pastureland and forestland owned by foreign investors continued to increase in 2023, according to a recent analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
A case in federal court aims to dismantle a decades-old wetlands law, best known for its nickname.
Lincoln University in Missouri is heading a USDA-funded project researching the commodity, but its prohibition created high hurdles for getting the crop off the ground.
The one-time payments could offer short-term support as many farmers grapple with less income and extreme weather.
Lawmakers have put the soybean on track to become Illinois’s official state bean. The Prarie State is the top producer of soybeans in the U.S., with about a quarter of its land used for growing the crop.
For his second term, Trump proposed various tariffs on the campaign trail and after his election, including a 60% tariff increase on Chinese imports and an additional 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico.
Collard greens are a nutritious vegetable with a rich cultural heritage in the U.S. Now, scientists and enthusiasts are working to preserve and popularize heirloom varieties that could be tastier and more climate resilient than common grocery greens.
Many economists and commodity groups say import taxes on products from countries such as China, Mexico and Canada could boomerang and harm U.S. agriculture.