Two more USDA nominees are ready for floor action, bringing the total waiting confirmation to seven.
Monday evening, the Senate Ag Committee advanced the nominations of Richard Fordyce to be undersecretary for farm production and conservation, and Michael Boren to be undersecretary for natural resources and environment.
Fordyce’s nomination isn’t controversial. He was approved in committee 19-4 with bipartisan support. Boren, who’s had some disputes with the Forest Service over his Idaho land, was approved on a party-line vote. The committee’s top Democrat, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, told Agri-Pulse the land disputes were one of several factors behind the Democratic opposition. She declined to elaborate.
Take note: Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota has teed up action this week on one of the pending nominees, Tyler Clarkson, who’s President Donald Trump’s pick to be USDA’s general counsel.
Other nominees awaiting floor action include Luke Lindberg as undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, Dudley Hoskins as undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, and Scott Hutchins as undersecretary for research, education and economics.
By the way: Klobuchar praised Ag Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., for moving quickly to hold a hearing this week on USDA’s reorganization plan. Among her concerns is that the USDA officials left in Washington will lose connections with key support staff. USDA employees are being ordered to move “across the country with no plan, no updates to the chairman or me, nothing,” she told reporters.
Ag groups praise EU framework as details trickle out
Some agricultural groups are welcoming the Trump administration’s trade pact with the European Union, as more details emerge.
The U.S. and EU reached agreement Sunday to avoid 30% tariffs on EU exports, with the EU agreeing instead to a 15% rate on most products. On Monday, a White House fact sheet provided some more details on the framework.
In addition to agreeing to eliminate tariffs on certain agricultural products, both sides committed to working together to streamline pork and dairy exports.
“Addressing trade issues with the European Union has been a critical need for American agriculture for years,” said Corn Refiners Association President John Bode.
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National Grain and Feed Association President and CEO Mike Seyfert argued that a “stable, rules-based” framework would provide a platform for addressing nontariff trade barriers. “This is a meaningful step forward in opening one of the world’s most restrictive markets to American producers.”
Dairy sector takes aim at countries’ trade-distorting practices at ITC hearing
Representatives from across the dairy sector argued at a hearing Monday that foreign governments are distorting global prices and depressing U.S. exports of nonfat milk solids.
Commissioners at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) heard how India’s subsidies, Turkey’s government purchases and the European Union’s casein subsidization impact U.S. competitiveness.
“Their policy actions are becoming increasingly disruptive,” the National Milk Producers Federation’s (NMPF) William Loux said.
Some of the most pointed criticism was reserved for Canada. Witnesses told the commissioners that Canada’s pricing mechanism and extensive subsidization under its supply management system helped Canadian producers undercut the U.S. industry. They also railed against Canadian industry efforts to circumvent export limits and market access commitment imposed under a North American trade deal.
“Canadian policies have one purpose: to protect the small number of Canadian dairy producers at all costs,” said Jaime Castaneda, NMPF’s executive vice president for policy and strategy.
The commission is preparing a public report on U.S. competitiveness in the sector due in 2026, with the hearing part of the fact-finding process.
Take note: A Canadian embassy representative had been scheduled to speak at the hearing but withdrew last week, according to an ITC official.
Trump pledges food centers in Gaza
Trump said the United States would work to set up food centers in Gaza as global aid groups continue to raise alarms about the levels of hunger spreading.
Access to food was made more difficult after Israel implemented a total blockade in March. While that was temporarily lifted in May, aid groups have voiced continued concern about the potential for famine.
On Sunday, Israel said it would implement pauses in military operations to allow for more food and additional humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. Trump told reporters the videos and photos coming out of Gaza show “real starvation” that cannot be faked.
Meanwhile: The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 was released Monday and demonstrated global hunger had slightly declined from last year but is still worsening in regions like Africa and western Asia.
The annual report, compiled by United Nations organizations, looks at chronic food insecurity and does not necessarily factor in food crises like those in Gaza.
Read more on the report in our story here.
Democrats question removal of ‘socially disadvantaged’ designation
Small-scale farmers will be worse off from USDA’s decision to stop recognizing minority and women farmers as “socially disadvantaged,” 34 House Democratic lawmakers say in a letter to Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins.
The rule issued by USDA earlier this month “falsely assumes that race and gender-based discrimination has been solved for good,” write the representatives, led by Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, and Alma Adams, D-N.C.
Black, Latino, Asian, Native American and women farmers had been eligible for additional benefits. USDA said it made the change to comply with a court decision.
The lawmakers want Rollins to provide the data used by USDA to craft the rule, as well as to say how the Trump administration plans “to ensure that there will not be discrimination or disparities in USDA programs,” including loans, conservation support, credit and other benefits.
Settlement proposed in dairy antitrust case
Dairy Farmers of America and Select Milk Producers Inc. have agreed to pay $34.4 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit brought by Southwestern dairy farmers, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, first filed in 2022, had accused the two entities of conspiring to suppress dairy farmers’ pay by illegally sharing price information through joint ventures and driving down pay through nonpooling of milk. The companies maintain that no wrongdoing occurred.
Under the proposed settlement, the two organizations would also dissolve the Greater Southwest Agency, which the plaintiffs claim “was one of the primary mechanisms through which the alleged conspiracy was effectuated.” The deal still needs approval from a judge.
NASS readies new conservation survey
The National Agricultural Statistics Service will track producers’ conservation activities through a survey set to be conducted this fall and next spring.
Questions will focus on producers’ use of conservation practices, tillage, irrigation, chemicals and fertilizers, according to a press release. Data from the survey will then be provided to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which will use it as the basis for a report on trends in cropland conservation between 2024 and 2026.
Final word
“Hunger remains at alarming levels, yet the funding needed to tackle it is falling. Last year, WFP reached 124 million people with lifesaving food assistance. This year, funding cuts of up to 40% mean that tens of millions of people will lose the vital lifeline we provide.” — World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain
Rebekah Alvey, Philip Brasher, Oliver Ward and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak.
