Articles Tagged with ''Brooke Rollins''

The costs states face in co-funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are comparable to the roughly $15 billion spent on transportation in fiscal 2025, the National Association of State Budget Officers tells Senate and House Agriculture committee leaders. USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears says 7,000 inspectors with the Food Safety Inspection Service are “leading the animal health charge” in the fight against New World screwworm, and the parasitic pest does not pose a threat to the food supply.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins used her time with the International Fresh Produce Association to highlight the administration’s deregulation push, as well as efforts to reshape federal nutrition policy, expand export markets, lower labor costs and support specialty crop producers.

Federal and state officials are scrambling to respond to a growing list of New World screwworm cases in Texas, but face a key constraint in their goal of re-eradicating the pest: the U.S. isn’t producing enough sterile flies. 

USDA and blue states aren’t giving an inch in their continuing battle over SNAP data, as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins continues to blast the program as rife with fraud, waste and abuse. The fight over SNAP was highlighted at a recent House Agriculture Committee hearing where Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., harshly criticized Rollins over SNAP.

The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to consider a farm bill during the work period between July 4th and August recesses, Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., says. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the nomination of Glen Smith to be undersecretary of agriculture for rural development along party lines, setting the stage for a Senate floor vote. 

It’s another big week as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins grapples with a threat to livestock, senators work on a farm bill, and President Donald Trump says he’s focused on ending war with Iran and lowering costs for ag producers and other Americans. A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction barring the Agriculture Department from withholding funding from a group of states through a terms and conditions framework that seeks to comply with Trump administration policies on gender, immigration and diversity.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says while no one has a crystal ball, emergence of New World screwworm in Texas shouldn’t significantly diminish the U.S. cattle herd. Several lawmakers criticized USDA’s funding for specialty crop programs as inadequate, even though program assistance was raised to $1.6 billion last week.

The safety of glyphosate, cuts in federal food aid and farm income losses were the focus of tense exchanges between Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Democrats during a House Ag Committee hearing on Thursday. 

Agriculture Department officials have confirmed a case of New World screwworm in a South Texas calf, marking the first detection of the pest in U.S. livestock in decades. 

The Agriculture Department will seek comment later this year on proposals aimed at aligning new federal dietary guidelines with school meal standards, Deputy Ag Secretary Stephen Vaden says. Rep. Randy Feenstra suffered a surprising defeat in Iowa’s GOP gubernatorial primary Tuesday, losing to businessman Zach Lahn despite a late endorsement from President Donald Trump.