USDA Forest Service Invests in Four Projects to Restore State and Private Forests Across the South
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced it is investing more than $2.1 million in four projects across nine states in the Southern Region to restore state and private forestlands. These investments directly support the agency’s efforts to reduce wildfire risk, increase timber production, and expand rural economies, while providing critical support to landowners across management jurisdictions as they work to promote healthy, productive forests that benefit rural communities.
The investments, totaling more than $7 million nationwide, are being delivered as competitive grants through the Landscape Scale Restoration program. Of the total funding, $600,000 will support two projects for federally recognized tribes.
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USDA Delivers on President Trump’s Promise to Put American Farmers First with Enhanced Crop Insurance Benefits Following Passage of One Big Beautiful Bill Act
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the rapid implementation of significant enhancements to federal crop insurance programs following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025. In record time, RMA has delivered these transformative changes, demonstrating the Trump Administration’s unwavering commitment to putting American farmers first by expanding benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options, and making crop insurance more affordable and accessible across multiple insurance programs.
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Secretary Rollins Blocks Taxpayer Dollars For Solar Panels On Prime Farmland
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins alongside Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Senator Bill Hagerty, Representative John Rose, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden, announced USDA will no longer fund taxpayer dollars for solar panels on productive farmland or allow solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries to be used in USDA projects. Subsidized solar farms have made it more difficult for farmers to access farmland by making it more expensive and less available. Within the last 30 years, Tennessee alone has lost over 1.2 million acres of farmland and is expected to lose 2 million acres by 2027. This problem is not just in Tennessee, since 2012, solar panels on farmland nationwide have increased by nearly 50%. That is why the Department is taking action.
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Which States Won and Lost in the Latest USDA Crop Progress Report?
Based on the most recent condition ratings for corn and soybeans reported by USDA, there are clear “winners,” or states with the highest rated crops, and “losers,” or states with the lowest rated crops.
Three top soybean-growing states reported that more than 80% of their crop was in good or excellent shape, but one of them dominated. USDA reported that 92% of Louisiana’s soybean crop was in good/excellent condition.
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Regular Maintenance Requirements for All CRP Contracts
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conserve farmland for future generations while providing habitat for wildlife, reducing soil erosion, and improving water quality. Regular maintenance on CRP acres is needed to ensure the acreage continues to provide conservation benefits and remains in compliance with the CRP contract.
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Louisiana Crop Conditions As Of August 10
According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, as of last Sunday all of the Louisiana soybean crop was blooming, which is also the five year average for this time of year. 94-percent was setting pods, same for the five year average. That crop was rated 8 percent fair, 90 percent good and two percent excellent.
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Louisiana Conservation & Commodity Updates: July 2025
From 2018 – 2022, U.S. farms where most of the ownership lies outside the producer’s household or relatives (nonfamily farms) operate more land than family farms, across all production scales (small, medium, or large). Nonfamily farm operations accounted for 13.4% of total production value during that period even though they make up only 2% of farms in the US.
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Myth Busting For Beginning Farmer & Rancher (BFR)
Myth: I am too old to be considered a beginning farmer or rancher. False—In fact, there is no age limit or age requirement to be considered a beginning farmer!
• According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, 61% of beginning farmers and ranchers are between the ages of 35 – 64 with an average age of 47.
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Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP)
The American Relief Act, 2025, provides disaster relief payments to producers who suffered revenue, quality or production losses to crops, trees, bushes, or vines due to qualifying disaster events in calendar years 2023 and 2024.
The Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) will be administered in two stages. Producers can receive payments in both stages, if applicable, and for one or both years, depending on losses.
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USDA Opens Public Comment Period On Department Reorganization Plan
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the opening of a 30-day public comment period for stakeholders to provide feedback on the Department’s reorganization plan, as outlined in the Secretary’s memorandum issued on July 24, 2025.
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Officials Say USDA Relocation Plan Will Save About $4 Billion
Government Executive's Eric Katz reported that "the Agriculture Department is confident its push to move more employees out of Washington and into five new hubs around the country will retain most staff and large-scale layoffs will not be necessary, a top official told lawmakers on Wednesday."
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USDA Announces August 2025 Lending Rates for Agricultural Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for August 2025, which are effective Aug. 1, 2025. USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.
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USDA to Gather Conservation Data to Assess Trends and Improve Programs and Services
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in partnership with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is reaching out to farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners to gather in-depth information about the conservation practices they use.
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United States Cattle Inventory Report
There were 94.2 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1, 2025, according to the Cattle report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). This is the first July cattle inventory report since July 2023.
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Senate Agriculture Committee Reviews Key USDA Nominees This Week
On Wednesday, July 23, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a confirmation hearing for Richard Fordyce, the nominee to serve as Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area.
Fordyce, a Missouri farmer and former Administrator of the Farm Service Agency (FSA), is widely respected across the agriculture community for his leadership and hands-on experience in farm policy and conservation.
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