Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is taking steps to end or scale back loan support for clean energy projects.
A USDA memo obtained by Agri-Pulse details how the department is ending or restricting support for wind and solar projects under two Rural Development programs.
During an appearance in Tennessee on Monday, Rollins said “subsidized solar farms have made it more and more and even almost entirely impossible for new farmers to access farmland by making it more expensive and less available."
Take note: The department provided no details on what Rollins had in mind in her remarks. But the USDA-Rural Development memo details new restrictions on Business and Industry loans, and on loans and grants under the Rural Energy for America Program.
For more details go to Agri-Pulse.com.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rode with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service cattle fever tick riders along the Rio Grande River in June (USDA photo
Farmers could face sharp health insurance increases
Ag financial consultant Paul Neiffer is warning farmers that they could face sharp premium increases if they’re relying on Affordable Care Act policies for health insurance.
Tax credits that reduce the cost of the insurance are set to drop significantly in 2026, by more than 70% in some cases, Neiffer says in a note to his Farm CPA Report subscribers.
“Most health insurance providers are assuming that many healthy people that were on the exchange will now drop coverage due to the overall reduction in tax credits and this along with other inflationary practices will result in premiums next year increasing by an average of 18% and in some cases over 20%,” Neiffer says.
Take note: Neiffer says 125 of 254 providers plan increases of 20% or more, and seven providers intend to raise premiums by more than 50%.
Lesser prairie chicken ruling earns plaudits
State and federal lawmakers are applauding a judge’s order invalidating Endangered Species Act protections for the lesser prairie chicken.
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“This is a big win for Texas, and one we fought hard to get,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said Monday. “From Day 1, I’ve pushed back against [former President Joe] Biden’s federal overreach because it was wrong for our farmers, ranchers and rural communities. This court decision is more than just a legal victory. We stood our ground, and we won.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service had asked U.S. District Judge David Counts of the federal court in west Texas to vacate and remand the Biden-era rule. Counts said the agency “points to very serious error at the very foundation of this rule.”
The service argued that the Biden administration improperly applied the agency’s policy when dividing two population segments of the bird, listing one as endangered and the other as threatened.
Environmental groups said the ruling puts the chicken in dire straits. The bird’s habitat is in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Hemp funding for Minnesota farmers celebrated
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is touting $500,000 in funding to create a new research partnership that would benefit Minnesota hemp growers. On a press call Monday, the ranking member on the Agriculture Committee said the money is part of $1 million earmarked for the Cereal Disease Lab at the University of Minnesota.
The $500,000 is focused specifically on “improving processing of industrial hemp fiber,” according to Klobuchar’s office.
The ag appropriations bill cleared the Senate 87-9. It still needs to pass the House, but Klobuchar said she’s optimistic the hemp funding language will survive.
Craig LaPlante, a farmer in Crookston, Minn., said on the call that the main reason he grows hemp is to have more crop diversity. Referring to the hemp plant’s deep roots, LaPlante said, “It's a very stabilizing crop, and it can give a lot of potential diversity to our income base in northern Minnesota as well.”
HHS unveils “MAHA in Action” tracker
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a website with details on Make America Healthy Again accomplishments around the country.
MAHA in Action is “a dynamic new platform showcasing the powerful federal initiatives and state-led reforms advancing President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s [MAHA] agenda,” an HHS press release says.
Restrictions on lab-grown meat, nutrition training requirements for medical students, expanded access to ivermectin, and the removal of fluoride from drinking water are among the state actions cited on the tracker.
‘Baby Peanut’: House Ag Republican announces birth
Congratulations to House Ag Committee member Kat Cammack, who has announced the birth of her first child. “We’d like to formally introduce Ms. Augusta Dair aka Baby Peanut!” Cammack said in an X post.
“Baby Auggie (as mom calls her or Gussasaurus as Dad calls her) made her debut on August 14th after a very long & tough labor. Baby is doing great and already showing us her sweet and sassy personality while Mom is speedily recovering.”
The Republican representative is serving her third term from Florida’s 3rd District.
Final word
“Starting today, @USDA will no longer deploy programs to fund solar or wind projects on productive farmland, ending massive taxpayer handouts. Also ENDING the use of panels made by foreign adversaries like China” – Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins in a post on X Monday.
Philip Brasher and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak.
