Save US Farms — Independent Farm & Agriculture News
From the field
More from the desk
Spring Drought Dries Up Farm Cash as Midwest Hits 127-Year Low
Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan recorded their driest May in over a century, threatening crop yields and farm income as drought spreads across the region.
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.
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.