Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is doubling down on promises that the Trump administration will help farmers affecting by tariffs. And she’s downplaying concerns that a key funding source is running dry. 

“It will be there,” Rollins told Fox News on Sunday of a trade compensation package. But Rollins said the administration won’t know whether the assistance will be needed until negotiations with trading partners have played out. Only China has retaliated against new reciprocal tariffs so far. 

“The president has said, ‘I've got the farmers’ back,’ and my job is to ensure that we effectuate that promise to our farmers,” Rollins said. 

Take note: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday that the administration is in active negotiations with the European Union, United Kingdom, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Israel. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also described early conversations with China through “intermediaries.” Lutnick echoed the president’s recent optimism.  “I am confident this is going to work out with China,” Lutnick said. 

White House narrows reciprocal tariffs as Trump continues making threats

The White House has spared a slate of consumer electronics from U.S. reciprocal tariffs unveiled on April 2, despite the president previously insisting there would be “no exemptions.” But even as the administration narrows the scope of reciprocal duties, President Trump continues to issue new tariff threats.

Trump late last week said Mexico could face additional tariffs over a long-running water dispute with the U.S. Under a 1944 treaty, Mexico is required to send the U.S. 1.75 million acre-feet of water from the Rio Grande every five years. The International Boundary and Water Commission estimates it has sent about a third of what it owes this cycle – which ends in October. 

“[W]e will keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly.”

Discussions continue: Mexico acknowledges it has not lived up to the treaty, blaming a three-year drought, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said in a post on X that “to the extent water is available, Mexico has been complying."

The Mexican government has provided U.S. officials a “comprehensive proposal” to address lagging Rio Grande water deliveries, she said.

“I am confident that, as on other issues, an agreement will be reached," she added.

Take note: Rollins confirmed Friday in an X post that she had a “productive call" with Mexico’s agriculture secretary about the issue. “We’re moving fast — stay tuned for updates,” she wrote.

Nebraska Republican fears NWS staffing losses will worsen Great Plains forecasts

A Nebraska Republican lawmaker is warning that a cutback in weather balloon launches could leave a “hole” in weather data for Nebraska and South Dakota.

The launches are being reduced or halted completely at National Weather Service offices across the Plains due to limited staff, and Rep. Mike Flood tells Agri-Pulse that the NWS Omaha office faces a 50% staff reduction amid retirements and cutbacks. 

Weather balloon launches have been halted there, as well as in Rapid City, South Dakota, due to employee shortages. North Platte’s office has cut launches to one daily.

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Flood says he’s been pushing the White House to classify NWS meteorologists as public safety employees, a title that would provide them some protection from reduction efforts. “These people need to be classified as public safety employees,” Flood told Agri-Pulse. “For decades, they’ve wanted that designation. They really are at the apex of public safety.”

Zeldin: EPA to protect environment, grow economy

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says his agency is embracing a mission that includes protecting the environment and driving economic growth. “Some would say the EPA protects the environment. That's true, but there's a whole lot more to know beyond that,” Zeldin says in a four-minute address on the EPA website.

He says EPA “will continue tirelessly in our work to ensure clean air, land and water for every American, while simultaneously driving economic growth by unleashing energy dominance, pursuing permitting reform, making the U.S. the AI capital of the world, and bringing back American auto jobs.”

“Under my leadership, EPA will no longer view the goals of protecting our environment and growing our economy as binary choices. We must and we will choose both,” Zeldin says.

Left unsaid: As part of its strategy to promote economic growth, EPA last month targeted numerous regulations, including clean air rules limiting emissions of mercury and other air toxics from power plants.

“We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,” Zeldin says.

Cutting climate ag research would hurt efficiency, environmental group reports

Cutting all climate-related agriculture research could impact up to $424 million in grants at different federal agencies, the Breakthrough Institute estimates. The environmental research group came to the number after searching over 100,000 federal grant records for terms such as “greenhouse gas emissions” and “climate mitigation.”

The group says cutting this research would affect farmers’ productivity and global competitiveness, as several grants were focused on improving farming efficiency. They note climate mitigation efforts are often just a co-benefit in researching efficiency practices.

The report comes as the Trump administration reviews 15 programs at USDA, many of which provide funding for climate mitigation research and practices. 

Final word

“People make investment decisions that are years into the future if they're going to build a factory, or they're going to rehab an old factory or buy a bunch of new tools. And, right now, with Donald Trump, nobody can figure out what the rules will be five days from now, much less five years from now.” – Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on CNN’s State of the Union.

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