All posts tagged "Usda"

A federal judge has put a sweeping Trump administration plan to uproot thousands of government employees on ice, warning it likely flouts Congress's authority.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California on Tuesday blocked the Department of Agriculture from closing offices and forcing employees to relocate while a lawsuit brought by federal-worker unions plays out. In a 40-page order, Chhabria found it "overwhelmingly likely that USDA's planned closures and relocations violate Congress's express restrictions on those activities."

The reorganization, announced in summer 2025 after President Donald Trump ordered a "critical transformation" of the federal government, would force thousands of USDA workers to choose between moving far from home, often to another state, or losing their jobs, according to the ruling....

A flesh-eating parasite has the Trump administration backpedaling fast ahead of the midterm elections, according to a new report.

New World screwworm, a parasite that threatens U.S. livestock, forced the Agriculture department to partially lifting its ban on cattle imports from Mexico, according to a Friday night report from Politico.

The Trump administration is reportedly trying to lower the prices of beef ahead of the midterms. ...

President Donald Trump's rural base is suffering as his administration keeps yanking critical funding, according to a new report.

Iowa farmers are decrying the Trump U.S. Department of Agriculture's cancellation of millions of dollars' worth of grants because of "wasteful spending" and cuts to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, according to reporting by The Guardian.

"You feel like a slingshot," Jason Grimm, the executive director of the Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development, told The Guardian. The Iowa Valley RC&D is a non-profit that used USDA funding to set up and train new farmers....

The Trump administration erroneously touted export numbers for an American staple while the real numbers spark concern, per a report.

Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had to revise beef export sales and slash numbers by 90 percent compared to the incorrect number offered for a sales period ending in late June.

The USDA touted in early July that the exporters sold more than 126,000 metric tons of U.S. beef to foreign buyers, but the real number turned out to be just over 12,000 metric tons. ...

A red state official ripped the Trump administration for how it mishandled a dangerous parasite now spreading fear.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said on CNN that he started talking to the White House and Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins "for the first time" recently about New World Screwworm, despite giving them information about how to mitigate it much sooner.

Miller was talking about killing the screwworm using fly bait and then sterile flies, and said that the Agriculture Department ignored his calls to deploy it sooner....

An uncomfortable description of a threatening parasite by a Trump administration official is drawing startled reactions.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke at an oversight hearing on Thursday about the spread of the New World Screwworm that threatens cattle ranches.

"It's a vexing challenge that we thought we had beaten in the 1970s," Rollins said. "You need about 400 million sterile flies per week to mate with the bad flies...the larva [of the screwworm] is what actually eats the flesh."...