@reuters.com Evelyn Hockstein & I spent a week in the state, reporting on how federal economic policy changes are impacting the nation’s farming and food systems. It's the latest in our narrative series, and what we found was really eye-opening. www.reuters.com/investigates...

Chris Judge’s “A Daily Cloud” project began in 2020, born from quiet days in the garden during lockdown. With simple lines and a touch of imagination, he turned everyday skies into playful scenes - one cloud at a time. [1/3] Credits: adailycloud [FB] #clouds #creative

Ag story must-read: @reuters.com Heather Schlitz's fascinating tale about how the U.S.-China trade war has cost hog and cattle breeders a lucrative export market- and created an opportunity for farmers in Denmark to take market share. The headline is🔥! www.reuters.com/world/china/...

Farm loan employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency will now need approval from billionaire Elon Musk's DOGE to issue loans over $500,000, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The latest with Leah Douglas and myself on Reuters: www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

A couple really terrific reads by @reuters.com's Lisa Baertlein that, if you track agriculture, you'll want to check out: 🧵 First up, this trucking story... www.reuters.com/business/tru...

Must-read @reuters.com agriculture story today: Julie Ingwersen headed to Kentucky for a story with Karl Plume about the impact of the trade war and historic flooding on commodity crop farmers. www.reuters.com/world/us/ken...

What's the impact of the Trump Administration slashing federal funding for ag research at land-grant and other universities - furthering the trend of cutting public backing for such work, at a time when rivals China and Brazil are doing the opposite? www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Yes, city folks, your grocery prices are going up over time - partly because retailers pass on higher overhead expenses (like rents). Given that commercial real estate could be recovering this year, will that result in even higher grocery prices? Hat tip to USDA's Charts of Note team!

Apologies for the radio-silence, been on the road for work and for some family stuff. So - a catch-up on this terrific read by @reuters.com' Tom Polansek about the plight of the U.S. sorghum farmer. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

Latest on @reuters.com by @leahjdouglas.bsky.social: The Trump administration has fired staff who were working on the Food and Drug Administration's bird flu response as part of its mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. www.reuters.com/business/hea...

In West Virginia, where more than half the budget comes from federal funding, I spent a week following the story of a small farm / agriculture business to see how the Trump administration cuts are rippling across rural America. My lates on @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/us/fed...

Fantastic read today by @reuters.com Marcelo Teixeira and Roberto Samora about circle irrigation pivot practices in Brazil's coffee farm fields due to rapid shifts in rainfall patterns. For U.S. grain farmers used to such systems, it's worth a read: www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

Before the Trump administration began, Trinity's Table deliveries of USDA-supplied food filled an 18-wheeler. Now, meal service to senior groups is at risk. My latest on the ripple effects of federal cuts with @leahjdouglas.bsky.social & @reneehickman.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

First in @reuters.com: Democratic senators are planning a letter to USDA's Brooke Rollins asking her to reinstate two local food programs that the agency cancelled. The programs have spent more than $2 billion on local food purchases. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

USDA has suspended funding for research and programs at the University of Maine, after President Donald Trump clashed with Governor Janet Mills over the state's refusal to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports. The latest from @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...

"As the president said, farmers need to start growing crops to sell here in the U.S. This is what we are trying to do. We just need our approved grant funding to be released." My latest on @reuters.com with @leahjdouglas.bsky.social & Tom Polansek: www.reuters.com/world/us/far...

With only weeks until spring planting, Canadian and U.S. farmers, already facing low grain prices, are bracing for another economic blow: even bigger fertilizer bills amid a North American trade war. The latest from @reuters.com Ed White (I edited!) www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

weekly U.S. Drought Monitor for the Midwest

Canada has suspended imports from the biggest U.S. pork processing plant, a facility run by Smithfield Foods in Tar Heel, North Carolina, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture website. On the @reuters.com wire now by Tom Polansek - more coming soon.

The "free school lunch" history is fascinating: Started in the 1940s by Truman, in response to claims that many American men had been rejected for WW2 military service because of diet-related health problems. Hat tip to USDA ERS team's Charts of Note: www.ers.usda.gov/data-product...

Shout-out to @leahjdouglas.bsky.social being interviewed on @npr.org about bird flu! www.npr.org/2025/03/02/n...

If you read one ag-news story today, I'd really recommend Agripulse's Noah Wicks's piece on the impact of USDA's NRCS staffing cuts, and the ripple effects felt on the ground. Some offices are "effectively shuttered". www.agri-pulse.com/articles/224....

SEEKING URGENT HELP: I am trying to get in touch with folks from the USDA forest service crews fighting the fires in the Carolinas - or those who know how to reach them. My dms here should be open, or you can email me at [email protected] (or I'm on Signal @pjhuffstutter.49) Can you help me?

On tariffs, Rollins said Trump's "message to me within minutes of being sworn in and his message, frankly, to the ag community is ‘trust me.' At the end of the process, hopefully sooner rather than later, we will be ushering in an era of prosperity for our farmers and ranchers.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking to reporters in DC, said Trump's message to farmers concerned about a trade war is, "trust me."

The U.S. sheep herd last year grew for the first time since 2016. Why? As U.S. farmers grapple with soaring debt and slumping incomes, some crop producers are trading their tractors and launching solar grazing businesses to make ends meet. My latest on @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/us/she...

Latest trade war updates from @reuters.com Jeff Mason, Andrea Shalal and David Lawder: The fresh China tariffs coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday Next week is going to be busy... www.reuters.com/world/americ...

"Corn has the best pathway to make a little profit in 2025": Farmers in the U.S. plan to plant more corn and fewer soybeans, hoping to shield themselves from Trump’s threatened tariffs. Terrific analysis piece by @reuters.com Julie Ingwersen. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

A USDA investigation into the agency's funding for the University of Maine could compromise research on biofuels, vegetables, and "forever chemicals", said an advocate and a state lawmaker. Latest from @reuters.com @leahjdouglas.bsky.social & myself: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...

The Trump administration released $5.3 billion in frozen foreign aid, mostly for security and counternarcotics, according to a @reuters.com exclusive. USAID programs: less than $100 million in exemptions, compared to ~$40 billion in annual USAID program spend. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

Rural access to grocery stores is often limited - and that trend is growing. There have been tests to revive rural grocery stores - but how successful have these projects been, as some rural populations shrink? Hat tip to @USDA_ERS Charts of Note. ers.usda.gov/data-product...

The USDA is releasing first tranche ($20 million) of the billions frozen due to IRA halt. USDA still reviewing grants/contracts. Rollins' statement indicates Trump administration believes some grantees should not have gotten $$. My latest on @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...

My latest (on the @reuters.com wire now - working late): USDA will release approximately $20 million in funding for previously approved contracts that had been frozen by the Trump administration's push to overhaul the federal government, the agency said late on Thursday.

Staff at the U.S. farm, environment and interior agencies have been instructed by the Trump administration not to speak with the U.S. Congress. The latest from @reuters.com @leahjdouglas.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

Recipe request: I'm looking for a good elderberry syrup to make, that can be used in tea. I've got my hot-toddy game on-point, mind you, but I also have some dried elderberries and figured it would be a good way to use them up (given that so many folks I know are fighting off bugs). Help?

NEW: The Trump administration's dismantling of USAID has halted work at 17 farm research labs at universities in 13 states, six lab directors told me, @pjhuffstutter.bsky.social and Tom Polansek. "For US farmers, this is not good," said one director. www.reuters.com/world/us/cut...

I've always found it both ironic (and jarring) that in parts of rural America - where much of the nation's food supply is grown or produced - that there are such high rates of food insecurity (meaning people struggled to provide enough food for their household members within the past year).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has frozen some funding for farmers as it goes through a sweeping review, despite assurances from the Trump administration that programs helping farmers would not be affected. My latest with @leahjdouglas.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...

The U.S. has stopped purchases for foreign food aid programs since the Trump administration began a sweeping review of federal aid spending, despite a waiver issued nearly two weeks ago for food assistance, according to nine sources. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

Exclusive scoop by @reuters.com Rachael Levy: Security agents escorted the inspector general of the USDA out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...

Interesting news on the @reuters.com wire now - a week before the company earnings: Grain trader ADM on Wednesday named Carrie Nichol as its chief accounting officer, effective March 1, 2025. Name sound familiar?

Monday morning mood... (Hat tip to the talented Boult Animal Photography)

TGIF - on a food note (not so much ags, but still food): Milk Street Radio's podcast this week include a terrific piece on Don Lindgren, the antique bookseller who collects community cookbooks - that oh-so-very-American tradition. It's worth a listen! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Apologies for the late post on this story we broke yesterday, detailing companies in Brazil were affected by the soy shipments to China being halted due to phytosanitary issues (was working on the writing/edit late-late-late). www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

And they say there's no drama in agriculture... The story of Gregor MacGregor and his billion-dollar scam (in the 1800s!) Fascinating read by Chris Bennett at Farm Journal. www.agweb.com/news/busines...

Farmers across the Midwest have boosted crop sales as corn and soybean futures spiked after USDA slashed its 2024 harvest estimates on Friday, grain dealers in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska said. My latest @reuters.com piece with Heather Schlitz: www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

And finally, this interesting read by @reuters.com @thekarlplume.bsky.social on Rabobank analysts forecasting that U.S. soybean prices could slump below $9 a bushel, well below farmers' cost of production and the lowest since 2020, if Trump's threatened tariffs spark another trade war with China.

Next: Smithfield Foods on Monday made public its paperwork for its New York initial public offering as the maker of Farmland bacon and Farmer John sausages prepares for its U.S. stock market return after more than a decade. The latest from @reuters.com Tom Polansek www.reuters.com/business/ret...

A U.S. patient who had been hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu has died, the Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday, marking the country's first reported human death from the virus. The latest from @reuters.com @leahjdouglas.bsky.social and Julie Steenhuysen: www.reuters.com/world/us/lou...

Port strike, part two? "All in all, the situation points in the direction of another strike," Lars Jensen, CEO at Vespucci Maritime, said in a LinkedIn post the week before Trump met with the International Longshoremen’s Association’s. farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2025/01/high...