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California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross will retire at the end of 2026. Todd Ferrara launched Ferrara Government Affairs, a new advocacy and consulting firm, in Sacramento. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a northern California Republican and fourth-generation rice farmer on the House Agriculture Committee, died. He was 65. Justin Benavidez, who was chief economist for the House Agriculture Committee's Republican staff for the past three years, is succeeding Seth Meyer as USDA chief economist.  

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a northern California Republican and fourth-generation rice farmer on the House Agriculture Committee, has died, the House GOP announced Tuesday.

Growers of rice and cotton will receive the highest per-acre payments from the $11 billion in bridge assistance funding announced earlier this month.

California regulators are scrapping a biodiesel rule related to smog concerns that the industry has long said isn't needed.

The Trump administration is working to finalize a trade deal with Argentina, and produce growers in California are pushing the White House to raise, not lower, trade barriers to curb rising imports,

The Agriculture Department lost 18% of its staff to voluntary resignations, retirements and for other reasons during the first five months of the Trump administration, with some agencies losing up to a third or more of their employees, according to a report by USDA’s inspector general. California lost the most workers, more than even D.C.

More than 100 House members from both parties are urging the House and Senate Ag committees to ensure that specialty crop producers swiftly receive their promised economic assistance and that any application process is as accessible as possible.  

The Friant Water Authority appointed Julie Gantenbein as general counsel. She has been a shareholder in the Water and Power Law Group for the past 15 years where she has gained experience in water rights, regulatory compliance and statewide water policy. Her legal career includes extensive experience in non-federal hydropower licensing and compliance proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), natural gas certificate and compliance matters before FERC, and regulatory proceedings for federal water control facilities before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, according to the Friant Water Authority’s news release. 

• Almond prices are turning around as oversupply shrinks.
• Retaliatory tariffs in key markets have yet to materialize.
• But soaring input prices are weighing on producers' bottom lines.