The Biden administration says it plans to transform the food system to create a more competitive agricultural economy with new and better markets, and more resilient farms and ranches. In the recent news release, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack underscored the administration’s vision and efforts to create an economy where the wealth and opportunities created in rural America stay there. 

After serving nearly two years as the U.S. deputy secretary of agriculture, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh said that she is stepping away from the role to be able to spend more time with family. Her departure will happen in the coming weeks.

A full-scale organic regulations overhaul has been a long time coming. And finally, it seems to be here … at least on paper. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just unveiled its Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule, which it hopes will “protect organic integrity and bolster farmer and consumer confidence in the USDA organic seal.”

As I read through all of the things this new rule is supposed to do — from strengthening certification of organic imports to more rigorous domestic on-site inspections and better data reporting — I couldn’t help but wonder what all those organic activists think now that the USDA has basically admitted that the system they championed has been deeply flawed.

Honeybees are a hot topic when it comes to pollinators. And, while they’re not known for being the best pollinators, they’re still a critical component of agriculture, and they’re being affected by the bacterial disease known as American foulbrood.

In the past, there hasn’t been an effective prevention to protect bees against American foulbrood. The aggressive bacterium, Paenibacillus, is known for spreading quickly from hive to hive, with the only current treatment method being the incineration of the affected hive, bees, and equipment.