Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is urging Congress to approve more than $11 billion in additional farm assistance, telling lawmakers many producers continue to struggle with high input costs despite efforts to improve the farm economy.
Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Rollins says the Trump administration is pursuing both short-term financial relief and long-term strategies to reduce production costs, including expanding domestic fertilizer manufacturing.
Read MoreWhat a difference a month makes, seems like just yesterday that 90% of our State was in severe or extreme drought…what a change! As you are aware, recent storms associated with Tropical Storm Arthur brought record breaking amounts of rainfall to the South-central portion of the state.
Read MoreU.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development announced the certification of the Farmers Innovation Fund as a Rural Business Investment Company, expanding private-sector investment opportunities for innovative agricultural businesses serving rural America.
Read MoreHouse Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a budget framework for a roughly $95 billion reconciliation package that would provide funding for defense, farm aid and state efforts to implement voter ID requirements in elections.
The resolution marks the opening salvo in Republicans’ effort to use the budget reconciliation process one final time to advance key GOP priorities while they still control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members and encourages all farmers, ranchers, and FSA program participants to take part in the Name County Committee nomination process. County committee members make important decisions about how Federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2026 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 3, 2026.
Read MoreThe Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) has updated multiple crop insurance policies beginning with the 2027 crop year for crops with a June 30, 2026, contract change date, and for the 2028 crop year for crops with an earlier contract change date.
Read MorePhysical loss loans through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) can help producers repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property essential to the success of the agricultural operation, including livestock losses. Examples of property commonly affected include essential farm buildings, fixtures to real estate, equipment, livestock, perennial crops, fruit and nut bearing trees, and harvested or stored crops and hay.
Impacted Area: Mississippi and Louisiana
Read MoreU.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making significant improvements to its disaster assistance and commodity loan programs as outlined in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to celebrate the one-year anniversary of President Donald J. Trump signing the Act into law on July 4, 2025. As part of the commitment to put Farmers First, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is strengthening disaster assistance support for livestock producers, orchardists and nursery tree growers, increasing Marketing Assistance Loan rates, and expanding Marketing Assistance Loans to better help cotton and sugar producers.
Read MoreThe Town of Gilbert is moving forward with a $1.4 million sewer improvement project; funded in large part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To keep the grant, the town must provide a local match of more than $500,000. Mayor Mike Stephens says the town plans to borrow the match money at 1% interest, then pay it back monthly through sewer service fees.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting 2.2 million acres into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for 2026. Through CRP, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers agricultural producers and landowners incentive payments for their conservation efforts while benefiting their agricultural operations and protecting the nation’s natural resources.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting farmers first by offering them a new option to schedule appointments online with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. Following a successful pilot program, FSA is now using a digital appointment platform across the agency to allow producers to make farm program or farm loan appointments online at their convenience.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) is improving the sugarcane crop insurance program for Louisiana sugarcane farmers.
These improvements include separating irrigated and non-irrigated practices in parishes with a history of irrigation to recognize the different risks to sugarcane under both production practices.
Read MoreU.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and several of her colleagues endorsed a request made by the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help the industry by purchasing surplus catfish products.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the senators asked her to approve a request to purchase U.S. farm-raised catfish products through the Agricultural Marketing Service Section 32 Program.
Read MoreU.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the launch of the $500 million Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply (FIELDS) Program, a new initiative administered through USDA Rural Development to expand domestic fertilizer manufacturing, strengthen America’s fertilizer supply chain, and improve long-term affordability for American farmers.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for July 2026, which are effective July 1, 2026. 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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