European Union Suspends Planned Tariff Retaliation: The European Union has suspended its planned countermeasures against the U.S. for six months following the recent U.S.-EU tariff agreement.
A spokesperson for the European Commission told Agri-Pulse in an email Monday that the bloc had delayed its planned countermeasures, the first of which was set to go into effect Thursday.
The new agreement “restores stability and predictability for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill told Agri-Pulse. “It secures continued access for EU exports to the U.S. market, preserves deeply integrated transatlantic value chains, effectively safeguards millions of jobs, and provides the basis for continued strategic cooperation between the EU and U.S.”
Vast Supplies of U.S. Aid Remain Stranded, Despite State Department Promises: “DESTROY” stickers were affixed this week to hundreds of cases of U.S.-branded food aid — 15,000 pounds’ worth — that have languished for months in a Georgia warehouse and then expired before they could be sent overseas to famine-stricken areas like Sudan.
And Mana Nutrition’s warehouse holds plenty more of the peanut paste, a crucial element in treating malnutrition. A $50 million supply has been stacked for months in the nonprofit’s facility in Pooler, a short drive from Savannah, caught in the chaos as the Trump administration upended foreign aid and never shipped.
The food could still help 60 million people, Mana estimates.
“This is a giant glut,” chief operating officer David Todd Harmon said. “All contracted. All bought and paid for. It’s just not been picked up.”
A State Department memo in late May signaled that more than 60,000 metric tons of commodities were sitting in warehouses in the United States and around the world and that an “urgent” plan would begin to shift some of it. The logjam followed the Trump administration’s breakneck dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, slashing more than 80 percent of its programming and laying off all but a tiny fraction of its staffers. The agency’s doors officially closed July 1.
Those cuts deeply disrupted a once-robust pipeline that funneled more than $1 billion in commodities and nutritional supplements to crisis zones globally.
Mexican Ranchers Struggle as a Tiny Parasite Ravages Their Cattle: The United States’ suspension of live cattle imports from Mexico hit at the worst possible time for rancher Martín Ibarra Vargas, who after two years of severe drought had hoped to put his family on better footing selling his calves across the northern border.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Ibarra Vargas has raised cattle on the parched soil of Sonora, the state in northwestern Mexico that shares a long border with the United States, particularly Arizona. His family has faced punishing droughts before but has never before had to contend with the economic hit of a new scourge: the New World Screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite.
U.S. agriculture officials halted live cattle crossing the border in July – the third suspension of the past eight months — due to concerns about the flesh-eating maggot which has been found in southern Mexico and is creeping north.
During the Great American Farmers Market, Secretary Rollins Removes Unhealthy Food from SNAP: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, joined by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., hosted Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey and signed six new food choice state waivers to further advance President Trump’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again. The signed waivers will amend the statutory definition of food for purchase for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) in West Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, each commencing in 2026.
“It is incredible to see so many states take action at this critical moment in our nation’s history and do something to begin to address chronic health problems. President Trump has changed the status quo, and the entire cabinet is taking action to Make America Healthy Again. At USDA, we play a key role in supporting Americans who fall on hard times, and that commitment does not change. Rather, these state waivers promote healthier options for families in need,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
Farmers Will Feel ‘Heard’ in Second MAHA Report: Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said Monday that U.S. ag will see its voice reflected in the second Make America Healthy Again Commission report, slated for release later this month.
“I think that you will see when the second commission report is issued that you were heard and that you influenced the result,” Vaden said during the American Sugar Alliance’s International Sweetener Symposium in Traverse City, Michigan.
The first MAHA report took flack from across the political spectrum following its publication in May. Farm groups complained that it was overly critical of pesticides and seed oils and ignored science demonstrating their safety, Agri-Pulse reported at the time. The American Farm Bureau Federation complained that farmers had been largely excluded from its fact-finding process, despite requesting meetings.
But Vaden on Monday tried to head off any similar criticism of the next report, which will include recommendations on how to address the rapid proliferation of chronic diseases.
Farm Bureau Shares MAHA Recommendations: The American Farm Bureau Federation has sent a series of recommendations to the Make America Health Again Commission that will benefit health outcomes and ensure farmers can continue growing safe, healthy and affordable food for America’s families.
“Farmers and ranchers share the goal of advancing health in America,” said Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “Healthy meals start with healthy farms, which is a responsibility farmers take seriously. Investing in research, rewarding innovation and alleviating overregulation helps them reach that goal. We appreciate the opportunity to share these policy recommendations that can directly and positively improve farmers’ ability to meet the needs of a healthy America.”
USDA to Make $230 Million in Purchases for Food Banks Struggling with Heightened Need: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday that USDA plans to purchase $230 million worth of fresh food for distribution to food banks and nutrition programs across the country.
The announcement comes as food banks prepare for increased need after Congress approved the largest reductions in SNAP funding in history under the policy megabill.
Risk Management Climate on Farms Keeps Evolving: A policy report from NebraskaFarmer described the 2025 ag outlook as a tale of two farms — or more specifically a farm and a ranch — as farm income prospects seem to be going in different directions for crop producers and for livestock producers, specifically cattle producers.
Crop producers have been facing declining prospects for several years as prices have trended down, even as costs have remained sticky at high levels and profit margins have been squeezed.
Cattle producers have benefited from record prices and revenues, although those high prices in large part are a response to reduced herd numbers, and opportunities to grow the herd have been clouded by grazing conditions, cash flow and long-run price expectations that could limit enthusiasm for rebuilding the herd.