Policy

Washington has found another way to argue over a puddle, and this time the definition may determine who needs federal permission to work near one. Water line: EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are reviewing feedback on their supplemental proposal for Waters of the United States, or WOTUS. The rule determines which waterways and wetlands fall under the federal Clean Water Act. For farmers, that can affect drainage, construction, and land-management decisions. Farm-side view:

Federal grazing just got a fresh push, and ranchers holding Forest Service permits got the memo in actual letter form. Very vintage. Very Washington. Roundup request: Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, sent a letter to livestock ranchers with grazing permits on U.S. Forest Service allotments, telling them to put the June grazing directive to work. The policy aims to streamline and expand federal-land grazing while staying inside existing law and regulations. Op

USDA is putting $180M into seeds, because apparently national security now starts with a packet and a prayer. Seed money: Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, announced the new Seed Sovereignty Initiative, a two-year push to sequence and characterize major crop collections held by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. The goal is to protect plant genetic resources and make them more useful for breeders, researchers and farmers. Gene pool party: The National Plant

Michigan’s cage-free egg law survived its latest court challenge, proving the legal system can still put all its eggs in one basket and then argue about whether the basket is constitutional. Scrambled suit: A federal judge tossed the Trump administration’s challenge to Michigan’s egg sales law, which bans the sale of shell eggs from hens kept in conventional cages. The ruling did not crack the bigger preemption question. Instead, the court said the federal government had not

Labor math: Rural voters are divided over immigration enforcement, but farm labor math still refuses to fit neatly in a campaign ad. A rural voter survey found immigration near the top of the political pile, while separate polling showed about seven in 10 rural voters consider legal immigrants and temporary or seasonal farm workers important to local economies. That is a lot of nuance trying to squeeze through a narrow policy gate. Field reality: The tension is not exactly su

Fence-line fire: A Colorado rancher’s wildfire loss has wandered into one of the biggest climate liability fights in the country. Kathleen Kelley, a fourth-generation Colorado rancher, saw the Lee Fire scorch nearly all of her ranch, dry up water for hundreds of cattle and force her to sell the herd that had anchored the operation. Her story has become part of a broader caseasking whether fossil fuel companies can face state-level claims for climate damages. Court corral: The

Gray area: Colorado’s wolf program just hit the part of reintroduction where the brochure meets the livestock bill. State wildlife officials temporarily paused the chronic depredation directive that allowed lethal removal after repeated wolf attacks, saying future removals will be handled more conservatively while the population picture comes into focus. Translation: problem wolves are not off the hook, but the hook is now wrapped in committee language. Population math: The s

Solar panels just got dragged into a policy fight, which is impressive because they usually only follow the sun. Panel discussion: A coalition of farmers, solar businesses and rural energy groups is suing USDA over new Rural Energy for America Program restrictions that they say narrowed solar eligibility after producers already planned projects. The programcan support renewable energy and efficiency upgrades from solar arrays to grain dryers, otherwise known as farm math with

Regenerative agriculture just got a bigger federal wallet, which means the soil health crowd may briefly stop muttering into their cover crop seed catalogs. Soil money: USDA is increasing its Regenerative Pilot Program from $700 million to $1 billion for fiscal year 2027, with funding split between EQIP and CSP. Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, announced the boost after strong demand from producers. Paperwork compost: The department says producers will be abl

The beef supply chain in southwest Kansas hit a human-resources problem that quickly became a cattle problem. Backed up: Heightened immigration enforcement activity around Dodge City, Liberal and surrounding communities led some meatpacking employees to miss work. Livestock groups said thousands of fed cattle were delayed, creating added feed, yardage and transportation costs while finished animals waited for a processing slot. Some plants temporarily slowed or stopped lines,

California just gave E15 a much clearer lane to the pump, and corn growers have a reason to watch the fuel gauge. Green light: State regulators approved rules allowing voluntary sales of E15, a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol. The action follows legislation signed earlier this month that removed technical barriers to putting the blend into the market. California had already authorized year-round E15 sales, but the latest rules give fuel suppliers a more workable path to

Harvest fuel costs have gone from painful to “maybe don’t look at the receipt.” Policy at the pump: The administration is examining a full or partial diesel export ban as prices stay near record territory. The weekly national average hit about $6.53 per gallon this week, up sharply from a year earlier. Several farm-state lawmakers have pressed for limits on exports, arguing that more fuel should stay home while producers are burning through diesel at harvest. Farm math: The t

The West has a horse problem, and no, it is not that anyone forgot to close the barn door. By the numbers: Federal land managers estimate more than 85,000 wild horses and burros are roaming western public lands. Detailed 2026 program data put the population at 85,466 animals against a maximum Appropriate Management Level, or AML, of 25,592. That is more than three times the agency’s target while drought tightens the same forage and water supplies used by wildlife and livestoc

A fight over drain tile in the Prairie Pothole Region is getting appropriately bogged down. Under the surface: Farmers with federal wetland easements can install drainage tile, but only if it does not drain protected wetlands. A 2024 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule standardized how setbacks are calculated between tile lines and easement wetlands, using factors such as soil, tile depth, diameter and topography. Where it pinches: Some farmers argue the setbacks reach farthe

Farmers have been saying fertilizer prices smell funny for a while. Now federal officials appear to be asking them to bring receipts, preferably not written on the back of a seed cap. The setup: U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden visited Ogden, Iowa, for a fertilizer listening session focused on alleged anti-competitive behavior, consolidation, and prices that have stuck around like mud on a pickup floor mat. Growers from several states shared examp

USDA is telling dairy checkoff climate work to take a long walk back to the barn. The squeeze: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins told National Dairy Board Chair Lolly Lesher to halt several environmental initiatives that USDA says are not aligned with current department policy. The list includes Scope 3 greenhouse gas accounting, the U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative, the Greener Cattle Initiative, the Sustainability Alliance, the Dairy Stewardship Commitment, FARM

Farm bill season is back, because apparently Congress missed the smell of stale coffee, amendments and everyone pretending September deadlines are surprising. The vote: The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its latest farm bill package on a 12-11 party-line vote, sending the legislation to the full Senate while farmers keep waiting for policy certainty that does not require a decoder ring. The next stop could bring more floor fights, because this is Washington and nothing

The USDA reorganization plan just got parked until Oct. 2, which is either a legal speed bump or a full bureaucratic hay bale in the road. Court hold: A federal judge paused the department’s reorganization and most employee relocations while considering a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit from federal worker unions and allied groups. The stay reaches several USDA corners, including Research, Education and Economics, the Forest Service, the Foreign Agricultural Service, Rura

Farmer-led research is waiting on USDA paperwork, which is the least charming kind of cover crop. Funding fog: $48 million in Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education funding has not been released yet, and supporters are nervous because the clock runs out at the end of September. Nothing says “innovation” like watching a deadline walk toward you holding a clipboard. What it funds: SARE backs farmer-driven research, demonstrations and education, often on practical ideas

Cattle country is not exactly breaking up with President Donald Trump, but some ranchers are checking the relationship status. Rural side-eye: Ranchers’ loyalty is being tested as beef import moves collide with years of rural political support. The frustration is not abstract. Producers finally seeing profitable cattle prices do not love watching Washington reach for imports as the consumer-facing fix. Shocking, we know. The beef with beef: Earlier plans to allow more tariff-