EPA Grants RFS Exemptions, USDA Introduces New Rancher Intiative

Line on Agriculture
The Environmental Protection Agency has granted 1.76 billion gallons of exemptions from the 2025 Renewable Fuel Standard. EPA plans to reallocate these volumes to 2026 and 2027 obligations, effectively neutralizing the impact.

Meanwhile, the USDA's Ranchers First Initiative introduces a new insurance option for ranchers to retain heifers for breeding, expands disaster assistance, supports small beef processors, and prioritizes American beef in federal procurement.

Florida Takes Aim at Southern Pine Beetle Threat

Southeast Regional Ag News
Assistance program helps private forest landowners strengthen pine stands as neighboring states face beetle outbreaks.

Marker Assisted Avocado Breeding

Farm of the Future
UCR staff researcher Dr. Eric Focht says a new gene discover allows them to use marker-assisted selection to improve the avocado breeding process.

Georgia Helene Block Grant Payments Expected This Fall

Southeast Regional Ag News
More than $900 million has been requested against roughly $531 million in available disaster assistance.

Florida Extends Hurricane Disaster Aid Deadline

Southeast Regional Ag News
Producers impacted by the 2023 and 2024 hurricane seasons now have until January 1, 2027, to apply for assistance.

USDA Extends Supplemental Disaster Relief

Idaho Ag Today
USDA Extends Supplemental Disaster Relief Program Application Deadline, Announces New Flexibilities for 2023 and 2024 Quality Losses

Election Year Politics Stalls New Farm Bill

Washington State Farm Bureau Report
Election-year politics appear to have stalled the Senate farm bill.

ASCF Deadline August 7

Fruit Grower Report
Attention specialty crop farmers: if your 2025 crops were impacted by input costs or natural disasters, TODAY is the deadline to finish your application for the USDA’s Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers program.

California Specialty Crop Growers: Have You Applied Yet?

California Ag Today
USDA's one-time assistance program is still accepting applications, but the deadline is just days away.

Cosmic Crisp Developed Naturally

Fruit Grower Report
It’s become very popular over the past five or so years, and the Cosmic Crisp apple came to us with no artificial assistance.

Ag deadlines

Idaho Ag Today
USDA Reminds Agricultural Producers of Approaching Deadlines for Safety Net, Disaster Assistance, and County Committees

ASCF Deadline

Fruit Grower Report
USDA is reminding agricultural producers affected by rising production costs that the deadline to apply for key financial assistance programs is fast approaching.

Clock Is Ticking on Specialty Crop Assistance

Southeast Regional Ag News
Applications for one-time federal assistance remain open through August 7 for eligible 2025 specialty crop producers.

Judge Upholds Confidentiality of Quarantined California Dairies

California Ag Today
Court says protecting disease reporting and biosecurity outweighs public disclosure.

Farm Losses Deepen

Washington State Farm Bureau Report
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says farming is not easy, but Congress has the tools to help ease the burden of a struggling farm economy.

House Passed Farm Aid

Washington State Farm Bureau Report
The House is moving ahead with a budget framework that pairs billions in new farm assistance with funding for the Iran war, but Senate Republicans want changes.

Specialty Crop Assistance Deadline

Fruit Grower Report
If you grow tree fruit in these difficult times, or any other specialty crop for that matter, a deadline for assistance is fast approaching.

Specialty Crop Growers: Have You Applied Yet?

Southeast Regional Ag News
The USDA Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program is still accepting applications through local FSA offices and online.

Securing Ag Workforce Act and Push for Prop 12 Fix in Farm Bill

The Agribusiness Update
Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026 would broaden access to H-2A workers, and agricultural groups are urging the Senate Ag Committee to include language in their final bill to address the problems caused by California’s Proposition 12.

Trump proposes $11B farm aid, pushes permanent year‑round E15

Line on Agriculture
President Donald Trump has proposed an additional $11 billion in farm assistance funding to help agricultural producers recover from losses due to the Biden administration's regulations. This supplements the $12 billion already distributed this year.