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The National Weather Service is seeking to fill 155 key positions in offices thinned by staff cutbacks, offering current employees the opportunity to move, according to an email and agency notices viewed by Agri-Pulse.

Barbecue costs for Americans have reached a new high, according to the 2025 Rabobank BBQ Index. For the first time, the cost of a summer cookout will exceed the $100 threshold, with the index reporting the average cost to be $103 for a 10-person barbecue. This reflects a 4.21% increase from 2024, when the same barbecue cost $99, and a 41% increase from 2018, when the cookout was estimated to cost $73.

Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture and Trade Protection will begin testing milk from dairy farms in the state under a USDA program announced in December.

Low-income families that don’t participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spend significantly less at the grocery store than households that are in the program, according to a USDA study of consumer buying habits. 

Jimmy Emmons was named assistant chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Caleb Crosswhite joined USDA as deputy general counsel. The Peterson Group hired former House Ag Committee Democratic staff director Anne Simmons as a policy consultant. 

The American Feed Industry Association hired Greg Conner as senior manager of multilateral affairs and market access. Mallory Gaines was promoted to director of global affairs. Three new senior advisers were named to the Surface Transportation Board: Sharon Clark, Rob Reilly, and Chris Bertram. The Midwest Council on Agriculture appointed former undersecretary Greg Ibach as a policy adviser. 

Concerned that the Make America Healthy Again Commission will blame modern agricultural practices for chronic diseases, farm groups are pushing the White House to ensure the panel's initial report is based on "sound science and evidence-based claims."

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the Trump administration is having internal discussions about what to do regarding farmworkers who are in the country illegally.

CDFA hits budget headwinds * Newsom to ease SGMA reporting * Coyotes get spotlight * Rollins on ag labor

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday that the department didn’t plan to offer another round of buyouts and acknowledged that the release of a reorganization plan had been delayed by litigation. She also signed a waiver to restrict purchasing of sugary beverages with SNAP benefits. 

House Republicans continue struggling to reach agreement on their sweeping budget bill, but the measure is at least out of committee and headed to the House floor.