Save US Farms — Independent Farm & Agriculture News
From the field
More from the desk
Wage Floor Collapse: DOL Cuts H-2A Minimum to Poverty Levels
New federal wage rules slash the H-2A farmworker minimum by as much as 15%, costing migrant workers $4+ billion annually as growers lock in lower labor costs.
Federal Lands in Play: Grazing Access Becomes a Flashpoint
As ranchers face tighter margins and consolidation pressure, competition for federal grazing permits is reshaping who can survive on the land—and who gets bought out.
On the Screwworm Line: Ranchers Across the Border, One Crisis
As the parasitic pest hits ranches on both sides of the US-Mexico border, cattle producers share how it's squeezing operations and threatening what little margin they have left.
PFAS from Pesticides Found Widespread in California Water
Environmental testing reveals pesticide-derived 'forever chemicals' contaminating California's surface water and sediment, raising alarm for agricultural communities.
Screwworm Returns: Another Cost Shock for Squeezed Cattle Ranchers
A livestock parasite reemerging on the U.S.-Mexico border threatens cattle herds and ranch margins already compressed by consolidation, debt, and volatile commodity prices.
H-2A Workers Dig Deeper Into Poverty as Wages Stall
Migrant farm workers on H-2A visas are seeing wages stay flat while input costs climb, forcing families into debt. New data exposes how the program shields growers from market pressure.
The numbers behind the crisis
Real-time data on the foreign-ownership surge, commodity prices, and farm bankruptcy filings — all in one dashboard.
Open the War Room →What we're tracking
Who's buying America's dirt — and why you should care.
The financial trap squeezing family farms out of existence.
Your tractor, their software — the fight to own what you bought.
Farmers, co-ops, and organizers refusing to go quietly.
What agribusiness is doing to the soil — and the people who work it.
The farmworkers keeping America fed — and the system designed to exploit them.
The Daily Dirt — Morning Edition
Overnight June 25–26: Screwworm spreads in Texas, California advances PFAS ban, USDA opens specialty crop assistance, and DOJ continues meatpacking antitrust push.
- ▸ [New World Screwworm continues its spread northward across Texas](https://www.npr.org/2026/06/25/nx-s1-5860058/the-screwworm-parasite-continues-to-spread-in-texas-threatening-cattle-and-wildlife), with confirmed cases now in Zavala, La Salle, Gillespie, and Lea Counties, adding labor and medication costs to ranchers already squeezed by drought and market pressure.
- ▸ California's Assembly passed AB1603 in early June, advancing legislation that would ban PFAS pesticides statewide by 2035 and phase out 23 EU-banned compounds by 2030—moving the state to [restrict forever chemicals already contaminating nearly 40% of non-organic produce](https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2026/05/california-bill-tackling-toxic-forever-chemical-pesticides) and soil across the state.
- ▸ [USDA opened enrollment for its Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers (ASCF) program, offering $1.625 billion in direct payments to producers facing elevated input costs](https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/05/29/usda-announces-enrollment-period-and-payment-rates-specialty-crop-farmers), with online applications available June 1 and in-person enrollment starting June 8.