Opinion: We’ve Talked About Rural Mental Health for Years. Why Hasn’t Enough Changed?
The article highlights a growing mental‑health crisis among U.S. farmers and ranchers, noting that while stigma is slowly receding, access to qualified care remains scarce. Intensifying economic pressures—higher input costs, labor shortages, and volatile markets—are compounding stress. A newly introduced bipartisan Agriculture Access to Addiction and Mental Health Care Act signals congressional attention, but the author argues that legislation alone won’t solve the problem. Effective solutions must embed mental‑health resources within existing agricultural touchpoints and prioritize actionable, farmer‑focused programs.
Mosaic and Simplot Maintain Support for Fertilizer Tariffs
Mosaic and Simplot have filed support to keep countervailing duties on Moroccan and Russian phosphate fertilizers during the five‑year sunset review, seeking higher rates than the current 16.6%‑47% range. The duties, imposed in 2021 to offset foreign subsidies, are under...
Administration Adjusts Metals Tariffs
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation revising the 2025 steel, aluminum and copper tariffs. Derivative products containing less than 15% metal are now duty‑free, while those above that threshold see the rate drop from 50% to 25% and are assessed...
States Divided in Monsanto Roundup Case Before Supreme Court
Twenty states and the District of Columbia have filed an amicus brief opposing Monsanto in the Supreme Court case that questions whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state failure‑to‑warn lawsuits over Roundup. Monsanto, a Bayer subsidiary,...
Opinion: A Fertilizer Crunch Is Squeezing U.S. Farmers, and Policymakers Have an Opportunity to Act
U.S. farmers face a tightening fertilizer market as the Strait of Hormuz bottleneck drives up prices for urea, phosphates and sulfur. A USDA survey shows all eight major fertilizer products rose in early March, leaving 20‑25% of growers without full...
Digesters Cut Methane — but Leaks Can Erase Gains, Study Finds
A University of California, Riverside study of 98 California dairies over eight years shows that manure digesters cut methane emissions by roughly 80 % compared with open lagoons, but occasional leaks can reach 1,000 kg CH₄ per hour and erode most of the...
Farm Hands West: Naturipe Farms Staff Hires & Promotions, Knopf Departs The Raley’s Cos., Drake Promoted at California Natural Resources...
A wave of senior hires and promotions swept the U.S. agribusiness sector this week, highlighted by Naturipe Farms adding a Director of Business Development for its Value Added Fresh division and promoting long‑time executives. Raley’s Co. saw its CEO Keith Knopf...
Biodiesel Aims for a Comeback as New Rules Boost Demand Hopes
The EPA announced new Renewable Fuel Standard rules that raise biodiesel blending obligations and lower the equivalence value for renewable diesel, leveling the credit playing field. The 2024 RVO for biomass‑based diesel jumps to 5.4 billion gallons, a 61 % increase, and...
Rising Fertilizer Prices Spark Talk of Increasing Domestic Production
Fertilizer prices have spiked as the Iran war choked off key imports, especially urea, prompting calls for expanded U.S. production. Experts say a world‑scale nitrogen plant would cost $3‑5 billion, and the USDA is weighing a grant program to finance such...
Officials Weigh Trade Probe on Sugar but Could Face Obstacles
U.S. officials are weighing a trade investigation into sugar imports, considering both a Section 201 safeguard and a Section 301 unfair‑practice probe. While overall sugar imports have declined, higher‑tariff shipments have risen, and the existing 15.36‑cent‑per‑pound quota tariff has lost its protective...
Strait of Hormuz Disruptions Hit Tree Nut Industry
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed by about 90% since the Iran‑U.S./Israel conflict began, halting the flow of U.S. tree‑nut shipments to the Middle East. The region accounts for roughly $1.75 billion, or 20 % of U.S. agricultural exports there,...
Heart Association Urges Plant-Based Protein as MAHA Allies Call for Focus on Fiber
The American Heart Association’s 2026 guidance urges Americans to replace meat with plant‑based proteins such as beans, peas and lentils, while also tightening limits on saturated fat and sodium. Concurrently, Trump‑aligned MAHA groups are lobbying the USDA to prioritize dietary...
Mississippi Bans Lab-Grown Dairy
Mississippi became the first U.S. state to prohibit cell‑cultured dairy products with the passage of HB 1153. Signed on March 23, the law bars manufacturing, sale, and distribution of lab‑grown milk, cheese, and yogurt, imposing daily fines up to $10,000. It also...
Farm Hands on the Potomac: New Staff at USW, Diebel Elected President of Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
U.S. Wheat Associates reshuffled its West Coast office, promoting Luke Muller to market analyst and adding Kate Stephens and Tereza Edwards as new assistants. Syngenta announced the retirement of Scott Reasons and the elevation of Dave Ravel to head of...