The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as part of their efforts to address food systems challenges arising from the pandemic as well as those going back decades, has announced plans for another $100 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The funding would leverage hundreds of millions more in lending through community and private sector lenders to expand …
Short-term Extension of Livestock Price Reporting Keeps Reform Issue Alive
A short-term extension for Mandatory Livestock Price Reporting approved by Congress as part of a temporary stop-gap bill to keep the government open, allows more time for possible market reforms. Lawmakers voted for the extension as the authorization for existing mandatory reporting of livestock prices was about to expire, and temporary funding was needed to avert an end-of-fiscal-year government shutdown. …
AFBF: No Methane Tax on Animals in Reconciliation Bill
The American Farm Bureau Federation, addressing a social media myth, says “the current language of the reconciliation bill does not impose a methane tax on agriculture.” Those words from AFBF’s Public Affairs Vice President Sam Kieffer, who says the statement seeks to clear up any confusion. Kieffer says that over the summer, Farm Bureau economists conducted an analysis, at the …
Groups Pleased with USDA Investment in Agriculture Announcement
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a comprehensive set of investments to address challenges facing America’s agricultural producers. Of the $3 billion investment, up to $500 million will be used to prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF). This will be through robust expansion and coordination of monitoring, surveillance, prevention, quarantine, and eradication activities through USDA’s …
Vietnam Tariff Rate Reduction an Important Step for U.S. Pork
The recent announcement about the Vietnam tariff rate reduction is an important step for U.S. Pork. Joe Schuele has the details. More details about this can be found on the U.S. Meat Export Federation website. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Offers Targeted Research for Florida Cattle IndustryFebruary 20, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Allows Viable Research in the Cattle IndustryFebruary 6, 2026Florida Cattle …
U.S. Agrees to Resume Lamb Trade with U.K.
Last week, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that after talks with President Joe Biden, the U.S. has agreed to lift the ban on U.K. lamb imports. The ban, which has been in place since 1989 due to the mad cow BSE crisis in the U.K., hinges on finalization of the USDA Small Ruminant Scrapie rule. The rule was …
North Florida Beef & Forage Field Day is Thursday
The North Florida Research and Education Center in Marianna, Florida will host a Beef & Forage Field Day at their Beef Unit on Thursday, September 30. The event will feature a tour of research and demonstration plots at the station, located one mile west of Greenwood, Florida on Highway 162. Topics to be discussed include mycotoxins in forages and toxic …
AFBF, NPPC File Prop. 12 Appeal to Supreme Court
Monday, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take their case against California’s Proposition 12, which would ban the sale of pork from hogs that don’t meet the state’s “arbitrary” production standards. The appeal to the high court comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in July upheld …
ERS: Interest in Antibiotic-free Chicken Increasing
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service last week released a report titled “The Market for Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics, 2012–17.” The report studies consumer attitudes for chicken raised without antibiotics and their purchases of the products. The analysis grouped chicken products into three distinct market segments: classic, processed, and sausage. Between 2012 and 2017, household expenditure shares for …
Industry Responds to Coalition Announced at UN Summit
Agriculture and food industry groups welcome the formation of the Coalition of Action on Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource Conservation. The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) announced that it will join the effort. The Meat Institute expects to announce in November ambitious, data-driven targets to publicly verify progress on the 100 metrics in its sustainability framework. NAMI …