Farm Policy, Food Supply & Rural Coverage
33 articles · sorted newest first
USDA Unlocks Biofuel Markets for Regenerative Farmers
A new federal rule lets farmers earn premium prices for regenerative corn and soybeans, connecting sustainable practices to billion-dollar biofuel markets.
Supreme Court Blocks Roundup Cancer Suits, Shields Monsanto
In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court said pesticide companies can't be sued under state law—a massive win for Monsanto and Bayer that silences thousands of victims.
California Acts on PFAS: Assembly Bans Forever Chemicals by 2035
California's legislature just took aim at toxic PFAS pesticides contaminating soil and water. The ban would phase out forever chemicals that already coat the state's fruit and vegetables.
April Farm Bankruptcies Hit Highest Monthly Total Since 2020
Chapter 12 filings jumped 130% in April 2026, signaling a structural farm debt crisis accelerating faster than forecasts predicted.
Schumer Pushes Bill to Break Up Meatpacking Monopoly
Sen. Schumer's Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act targets the four companies that control 85% of beef and lock farmers into bad prices.
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.
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.
Factory Farms Are a Food Safety Risk. Consolidation Made It Worse.
Industrial livestock farming drives most U.S. foodborne illness outbreaks. The same consolidation that concentrated market power also concentrated biological risk.
Disclosure Isn't Enough: The Push to Close the Farmland Loophole
Federal law requires foreign buyers to report ag land purchases — but doesn't block them. A wave of state bans tries to fill the gap, unevenly.
The Debt Squeeze Pushing Family Farms Into Chapter 12
Family farm Chapter 12 bankruptcies have been climbing as commodity prices fall, input costs stay high, and market consolidation squeezes producers from both sides.
DOJ Opens Antitrust Probe of the Big Four Meatpackers
The Justice Department confirmed an antitrust probe of major beef processors in May, calling for whistleblowers as ranchers face persistent market consolidation.
NY Dairy Workers Fight for Overtime Rights Decades Overdue
New York extended labor rights to farmworkers in 2019. Dairy workers still get fewer overtime protections than everyone else, and a new organizing push aims to close the gap.
After USDA's Local Food Cuts, Congress Pushes Back
A bipartisan bill aims to restore regional food infrastructure USDA gutted, offering small farms a direct lifeline outside the commodity market squeeze.
Paraquat Is Banned in the EU. It's Still Being Sprayed on US Farms.
A widely used herbicide linked to Parkinson's disease and childhood leukemia. EWG and advocates pushed New York to ban it — the EPA's registration stands nationwide.
AI Data Centers and Solar Farms Are Eating the Midwest's Best Land
As AI infrastructure investment surges, data centers and solar farms are competing with family farms for Midwest land — raising alarms from USDA to state legislatures.
Trump Cut H-2A Wages. Courts Backed It. Dairy Workers Are Organizing.
The Trump administration cut H-2A agricultural wages by up to $5 an hour. Courts upheld the cuts. New York's dairy workers are now pushing for state-level labor protections.
The Screwworm Is Back, and Cattle Country Is Bracing
USDA confirmed the first domestic New World Screwworm cases since the 1960s — seven reports by mid-June. Senate Democrats are pressing the agency for more action and transparency.
California Moves to Ban PFAS Pesticides That Show Up in 9 in 10 Peaches
California's AB 1603 would ban 53 PFAS pesticides by 2035, with residues of the PFAS fungicide fludioxonil turning up in 90% of tested peaches and plums.
Who Really Owns American Farmland? The Paper Trail Nobody Wants You to Follow
Foreign investors hold roughly 45 million acres of US farmland — and the federal database meant to track them is so broken even the GAO can't trust it.
The Feds Are Suing John Deere Over Your Right to Fix Your Own Tractor
The FTC and two states sued Deere over repair-restriction practices that force farmers to dealers. It's the biggest right-to-repair fight in ag — here's what's at stake.
Wall Street Discovered Dirt: How Private Equity Turned Farmland Into a Yield Play
Pension funds and PE firms now treat US farmland like a bond that grows corn. For young farmers trying to buy in, that math is a wall they can't climb.
The Debt Is Coming Back: What Rising Chapter 12 Filings Tell Us About Farm Country
Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies are the canary in the coal mine for ag debt. Here's how to read the court data — and why the squeeze is structural, not just a bad year.
Four Packers, One Price: Why Cattle Ranchers Are Fighting the Meat Monopoly
Four companies slaughter most US beef. Ranchers say that concentration rigs the price against them — and a wave of lawsuits and rules is trying to break the grip.
America's Biggest Pork Producer Is Chinese-Owned — and It Sits on a Lot of US Land
Smithfield, the largest US pork company, has been owned by China's WH Group since 2013. The deal still shapes the farmland and foreign-ownership debate today.
Four Companies, One Seed Aisle: How Input Consolidation Quietly Taxes Every Farmer
A handful of firms now dominate the seeds and chemicals farmers can't farm without. Here's how the Bayer–Corteva era squeezes growers — explained simply.