In the News
USDA Staffing Shortages Strain FSA and NRCS Services Across Rural America
WASHINGTON (DTN) — Farmers in Polk County, Iowa, still have a Farm Service Agency office to visit. But when they arrive, four out of five days, that office will be closed. Calls are rerouted and employees from other counties come in to staff the office.
Read More USDA Staffing Shortages Strain FSA and NRCS Services Across Rural America
STUDY | The Unfinished Farm Bill: First Reading of Proposed Senate Legislation by Jonathan Coppess
On June 23, 2026, Senator John Boozman (R-AR), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (ANF), released legislative text for the unfinished provisions of the traditional Farm Bill. Chairman Boozman is calling the legislation “Farm Bill 2.0” (Senate ANF, “Farm Bill 2.0” and Press Release, June 23, 2026). This article provides a first
Read More STUDY | The Unfinished Farm Bill: First Reading of Proposed Senate Legislation by Jonathan Coppess
Op-ed: Washington is cutting the conservation programs that gave me a start in farming
By Gabe Arveson of Trail, Minnesota | I’m 23 years old, and I raise soybeans, spring wheat, oats and a small herd of beef cattle near Trail, in northwest Minnesota. I love being a farmer. But keeping a farm going is another thing entirely when you’re just starting out. One reason I can is that
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U.S. farmers lost conservation experts in Trump’s federal cuts. Now they’re hurting for help
The Natural Resources Conservation Service lost nearly a quarter of its staff nationwide in 2025 after the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal government. Many were local experts that help farmers with soil and water conservation efforts.
Read More U.S. farmers lost conservation experts in Trump’s federal cuts. Now they’re hurting for help
Farmers Struggle to Get Basic Services From Depleted Agriculture Department
After the departure of thousands of federal workers, rural communities report problems obtaining loans, grants, technical assistance and support for infrastructure and other services.
Read More Farmers Struggle to Get Basic Services From Depleted Agriculture Department
Opinion: Don’t strip Georgia farmers of the tools keeping us in business
By Randy Miller, Nicholls, Georgia | When Hurricane Helene tore through south Georgia in 2024, it took down 400 acres of 40-year-old pine timber on our family’s farm in Nicholls. My brother and I had spent our lives growing that stand. It was our retirement, gone in an afternoon. I’m 65, and I’ll tell you
Read More Opinion: Don’t strip Georgia farmers of the tools keeping us in business
Proposed Farm Bill could cut millions of Michigan conservation dollars
The latest version of the U.S. Farm Bill could leave more than 1,000 Michigan farmers without federal conservation funding, according to an analysis by the University of Illinois. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) helps fund conservation projects on farmland. The federal program started nearly 30 years ago and was recently granted permanent federal funding. John Burk is a
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Opinion: 56,500 reasons the farm bill must protect EQIP
By Rebecca Bartels | Farm country runs on the accumulated confidence that when someone tells you the money is there, the money is there. That confidence is what makes voluntary, incentive-based conservation work in the first place. It is why a producer will front the money to try an unfamiliar practice on 200 acres on
Read More Opinion: 56,500 reasons the farm bill must protect EQIP
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