The Department of Pesticide Regulation is taking enforcement actions against an Idaho company for selling restricted materials in California without permits.
An investigation found 159 violations by Keystone Pest Solutions over a four-year period through last July, according to DPR. The violations accounted for about 80% of the company’s California sales.
Solano County Ag Commissioner Ed King and his staff were screening shipments for invasive pests when they discovered four unpermitted boxes of 2,4-D, an herbicide sold at Home Depot and other major retailers.
The Napa County ag commissioner is investigating a subsequent spray drift incident linked to Keystone’s 2,4-D products, according to DPR. An agricultural biologist in Solano County has also intercepted an unpermitted Keystone shipment en route to a Benicia resident.
DPR is proposing $105,000 in penalties for Keystone.
UCSC hosts first annual California Black Farmers Conference
UC Santa Cruz undergraduate researcher Sheyna Burns is organizing the university’s first California Black Farmers Conference, set for Sept. 11 to 13.
The event is funded and hosted by the Square One Foundation, a Santa Cruz nonprofit focused on connecting small farmers to buyers and mentorship. The conference schedule includes a participant mixer, sessions, farm tours and a farmers market.
Burns’ research focuses on food justice, healthcare and agriculture at UCSC’s campus farm. She also started a food hub called Farm Fresh Markets to help disadvantaged farmers sell their produce.
Monterey ag community initiates safe drinking water project
The state water board broke ground Friday on a water system consolidation project in Moss Landing. The $15 million project is set to secure safe drinking water for nearly 400 residents, 20 of whom rely on domestic wells.
Over the last six years, the Springfield water system has exhibited high levels of 1,2,3-TCP. The chemical typically leeches from industrial or hazardous waste sites.
The water board is fully funding the project through a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant and administers technical assistance through the SAFER program. Board member Sean Maguire called consolidation a “tried-and-true” supply method for rural communities dealing with contaminated drinking water.
Judge orders agencies to pause RIFs, restructuring efforts
A federal judge has ordered the Agriculture Department and 20 other federal agencies to halt reorganization efforts for two weeks after finding that their downsizing attempts likely stem from unlawful Trump Administration orders.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California found that the plaintiffs — a mix of unions, professional groups, and trade organizations — are likely to succeed on their claim that President Donald Trump went beyond his authority in issuing an executive order to reform the federal workforce without first getting approval from Congress.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
USDA suspends livestock imports from Mexico over screwworm fears
The U.S. has suspended livestock imports across the southern border to prevent the spread of New World screwworm to the U.S.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here
“Due to the threat of New World Screwworm I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, & bison imports through U.S. southern border ports of entry effective immediately,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a post to X on Sunday. “The last time this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle industry to recover. This cannot happen again.”
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
U.S. cites progress in China trade talks; more details to come
We’ll be watching today for details of some U.S.-China progress on trade.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. and China have made “substantial progress” in talks aimed at de-escalating rising trade tensions and indicated the two sides may have struck a deal. The administration is set to provide further details on the state of discussions today.
Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spent the weekend in Switzerland holed up with Chinese officials in the first high-level talks since both sides hiked tariffs on each other’s products.
Going into the meetings, Bessent was cool on the prospects of securing a trade deal but told Fox News that the priority was de-escalating the existing trade tensions. In a statement, Greer suggested the weekend talks had progressed more rapidly than expected, however.
“It’s important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought,” Greer said in a statement.
Why it matters: The administration has hiked tariffs on China by 145% since entering office, and China has retaliated with new 125% duties on U.S. exports. U.S. ag has been warning officials of potential export losses from the tariffs and will continue to do so this week.
But, but, but: President Donld Trump has already suggested those duties will soon come down. In a post to Truth Social, Trump suggested the U.S. rate should be closer to 80% but insisted he would leave the decision up to Bessent. One thing that won’t be on the table though, is the 10% baseline tariff. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNN on Sunday that he expects the baseline to remain “for the foreseeable future.”
House GOP sets committee action on reconciliation
The House Ag Committee and two other panels are set to start consideration Tuesday of their pieces of the giant budget reconciliation bill that Trump wants.
The Ways and Means Committee will consider tax provisions that would extend and even expand some expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The draft text of the Ways and Means bill would increase the Section 199A business income deduction for small businesses from 20% to 22%. The estate tax exemption would be increased from $14 million to $15 million per individual.
For more on this week’s D.C. agenda, read our Washington Week Ahead.
Groups seek $1.2B for conservation operations at NRCS
Some 128 conservation and farm groups are urging congressional appropriators to provide $1.2 billion to the Natural Resources Conservation Service's conservation operations account.
In fiscal 2025, the current fiscal year, $895 million is set aside for the account, which in large part includes funding for conservation technical assistance as well as money for soil and snow surveys. The account received $941 million in FY23 and again in FY24, USDA budget summaries show.
In a letter, the organizations said the funding “is critical to the effective administration of USDA conservation programs.” They added that “our country’s conservation delivery system and producers across the country depend on the availability of on-the-ground technical assistance to implement effective conservation practices.”
Take note: Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget proposes a $754 million cut to conservation technical assistance.
New postmaster general chosen
David Steiner, a FedEx board member and former CEO of Waste Management, has been chosen by the U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors as the new Postmaster General.
Why it’s important: Trump has in the past expressed interest in privatizing the postal service, though it remains to be seen whether Steiner would attempt to move the organization in that direction.
National Rural Letter Carriers Association President Don Maston said in a lengthy statement that his organization is ready to work with Steiner but added that it is closely watching him due to his ties to FedEx, a private competitor. He warned against privatization, noting that rural communities would be hit hardest by the price increases that would result.
Final word
“Just another unlawful directive from the president.” — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who on Friday joined 14 Democratic AGs in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring an energy emergency.
