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"Generally Recognized as Safe" reform, food chemical safety reviews, and expanding the role of state agencies in the food inspection process are among the Food and Drug Administration's plans for 2026, according to priority deliverables released by the agency on Friday. 

The federal government is challenging Michigan’s cage-free egg law, claiming it is unconstitutional and has raised prices for consumers. But Michigan egg farmers who invested heavily to comply with the law would rather the administration focus on a vaccine for highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The H-2A foreign worker program saw another year of growth in 2025, with the number of certified positions increasing by about 13,300 workers to 398,258, a nearly 3.5% rise from the year before, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported. 

House Agriculture Committee ranking member Angie Craig formally introduces a sweeping farm, trade and nutrition bill, setting up a possible election-year battle with Republicans over ag policy.

Ethanol industry backers expressed outrage Thursday after House leadership decided to create a study council for biofuel issues rather than including a year-round E15 provision in a fiscal 2026 spending package.

Leaders of the Senate Ag Committee and 17 other senators are asking the Agriculture Department to reverse its decision to remove buy-up coverage on prevented planting. 

Midwest Republicans made a last-ditch attempt with House leadership to add year-round E15 to a fiscal 2026 appropriations package, and they came away with authorization of a council to study the issue and develop legislation to be considered next month. The rule for the funding package would set up the "E-15 Rural Domestic Energy Council."

The Environmental Protection Agency is refining habitat maps and mitigation options for growers to ensure crop protection chemicals don’t harm federally endangered species, an agency official told attendees at the American Farm Bureau Federation convention last week.

Agencies across the federal government shed tens of thousands of staff last year amid Trump Administration downsizing efforts, though a few offices have seen gains, according to new federal data that shines a light on last year's staffing changes. 

A partnership between ag-tech giant Corteva and oil behemoth BP is eying a 10% share of the EU market for green jet fuel, an optimistic signal for a biofuel industry facing an uncertain policy future.