Articles by Sarah Gonzalez

Ag committee lawmakers returned to Washington after the Easter recess with continued optimism that passage of a new, five-year farm bill is on the horizon. The House has overwhelmingly passed a bill to expedite Emergency Conservation Program payments to producers whose land has been damaged by wildfires.

Americans wasted less food in 2024, marking the first year-over-year decline since the post-pandemic period, according to a food waste nonprofi's annual report. ReFED outlines ways to continue this trend, including support for the bipartisan Food Date Labeling Act, which aims to reduce confusion around food date labels.

Former USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber says growers may be able to pull back on fertilizer use without significantly harming crop yields.

High stockpiles, weak prices and rising fertilizer bills are squeezing margins so tightly that many wheat growers are continuing to shift acres to crops with better returns.

Farmer sentiment improved in March even as concerns about rising input costs persist, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, with a notable gap between crop and livestock producers’ outlooks.

A new Medicare pilot program launched April 1, for the first time allowing approved health care providers to give eligible patients hemp‑derived CBD products.

The Department of Agriculture is a “bloated Washington, D.C., bureaucracy,” the Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 budget request says, proposing to cut USDA spending by $4.9 billion, or 19%, from current funding levels and eliminate international food aid programs.

The American Heart Association is urging Americans to get more of their protein from plants, while groups more typically aligned with the Make America Healthy Again agenda are calling on the Trump administration to prioritize dietary fiber over meat in school meals.

Mississippi has become the first U.S. state to ban cell‑cultured dairy products. The law follows a 2024 measure banning lab‑grown meat in the state.