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The Trump administration is making another run at reforming the way H-2A minimum wage rates are set that could provide some relief to farmers at a time when there is continued uncertainty about employees who are in the country illegally. It's not clear what wages farms will be required to pay in 2026.

Congress has returned to session after the August recess. House Ag Committee Chair Glenn "GT" Thompson has continued to vocalize his goals to take committee action on a “farm bill 2.0” in September to address elements not included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. During an interview for Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, the chairman discussed what’s on his radar this fall: farm aid payments, tariffs, ag labor reform legislation, the USDA reorganization plan, and his vision for "farm bill 2.0." 

One day after the Agriculture Department lowered its forecast for net cash farm income this year, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins took to the airwaves to predict that the farm economy was headed toward brighter days. 

Farm groups and other USDA stakeholders are raising concerns about the impact the Trump administration’s reorganization plan will have on agencies and personnel. The planned closure of a major research center in suburban Maryland and the department’s plan to consolidate staff in five regional hubs also are drawing some opposition.

Groups pushing for more help from the federal government to address the country’s shortage of rural veterinarians are cheering an Agriculture Department plan that does just that.

A federal court has struck down a key method for determining farmworker wages in the H-2A guest worker program, in a case brought by Louisiana sugar cane growers.

Staff shortages at FSA offices are alarming members of the farmer-elected committees that oversee county office operations across the country, who warn that increased responsibilities could lead to delays in program payments for farmers.

New legislation in California is designed to ease requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, in part to encourage development of more farmworker housing. But the way the law is written may blunt its impacts, this analysis argues.

A motion by the government to pause a preliminary injunction on President Trump’s executive order excluding most federal workers from collective bargaining agreements was granted by the Ninth Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden staunchly defended USDA’s reorganization plan at the Senate Agriculture Committee Wednesday, saying it would make the department more efficient and allow more employees to live in areas where they can afford to buy a home.