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With President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on many country-specific reciprocal tariffs set to expire in less than three weeks, some on Capitol Hill are getting anxious over the pace of negotiations. “The sooner people can have stability, the better," said one GOP senator.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will continue to conduct inspections of ag operations but will focus on criminal activity, White House border czar Tom Homan said Thursday.

The Agriculture Department has rescinded Regional Conservation Partnership Program award offers to several organizations previously selected to receive Inflation Reduction Act funding, according to agency notices and interviews with impacted recipients. 

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to open a new sterile fly dispersal facility at an inactive Air Force base in south Texas as part of USDA’s efforts to stop the spread of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that once wreaked havoc on the American livestock industry.

Challenges to the government’s decisions on small refinery exemptions must be heard in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, effectively taking the issue away from other circuit courts.

The Trump administration’s goal of deporting as many immigrants as possible is colliding with the farm industry’s dependence on undocumented labor, leading to a clash of competing interests.

Republicans in the House and Senate are closely aligned on the farm bill provisions in their budget reconciliation bill, although the Senate version is more favorable to corn and soybean growers who dominate Midwest farming.

U.S. exports are set to face new competition from Brazilian sorghum in the Chinese market, with some analysts estimating shipments from Brazil could begin picking up as soon as September. 

Biofuel and farm groups are generally hopeful that the Trump administration’s proposal on target for renewable fuels will better support growth across the industry, in addition to propping up domestic feedstocks. 
However, a lack of resolution on how the administration will handle small refinery exemptions and recent proposals on the 45Z tax credit for clean fuel producers could continue uncertainty in the market. 

The Army Corps of Engineers is moving forward in 2025 with plans to enhance inland waterway transportation through three main construction projects. None are located along the Mississippi River, a point of frustration for agricultural shippers eager to see enhancements to the mighty waterway's infrastructure.