USDA officials told Congress that staffing shortages at FSA and NRCS -- driven by employee departures, hiring constraints and limited funding -- have left some county offices understaffed or closed. The agency plans to hire up to 9,500 employees and rely on technology upgrades and outside partners to maintain services despite bipartisan concerns about impacts on farmers.
President Donald Trump hosted farm leaders at the White House to highlight his administration's agricultural accomplishments while announcing a MAHA-inspired executive order to expand research into regenerative agriculture and alternatives to current crop protection chemicals.
The United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, 2026, was 73.7 million head. This was down slightly from June 1, 2025, and down slightly from March 1, 2026, USDA NASS reported on Thursday.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that federal law preempts state failure-to-warn claims against Roundup, handing Bayer a major victory and shielding the company from state cancer-warning lawsuits.
USDA Undersecretary Richard Fordyce told lawmakers that commodity program implementation is nearing completion, while lawmakers raised concerns about the likely return of prevent plant buy-up coverage, oversubscribed conservation programs, staffing shortages, ad hoc disaster payments and crop insurance costs in low-risk states.
The White House Office of Budget and Management on Wednesday sent a funding request to Congress that seeks $11.1 billion in aid to farmers. The request also calls on Congress to immediately pass year-round E15.
With negotiations entering a new phase, farm groups are embracing the Senate farm bill draft while advancing new requests and renewed priorities before lawmakers finalize the bill.
Retail fertilizer prices were mostly lower for the second week in a row, according to retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the third week of June 2026. Leading the fertilizers lower were urea and UAN32. Urea was 12% less expensive with an average price of $731/ton while UAN32 was 7% lower compared to last month and had an average price of $544/ton.
Corn was rated 68% in good-to-excellent condition, and soybeans were rated 66% in good-to-excellent condition as of Sunday, June 21. Winter wheat harvest reached 40% complete.
A new study found the Renewable Fuel Standard transferred hundreds of billions of dollars to Midwest landowners by raising farmland values by up to 70%.
