USDA announces New World screwworm plan and industry responds (Morning Ag Clips): U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the largest initiative yet in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to combat the New World Screwworm (NWS) at the Texas State Capital on Friday. This announcement builds upon USDA’s five-pronged plan issued in June to combat the northward spread of NWS from Mexico into the United States.
Multiple state departments of agriculture, farm bureaus, and industry associations applauded the effort.
Federal judge orders USDA to restore six grants (Bloomberg): A federal court ordered the USDA to reinstate several farm and nonprofit grants that were abruptly canceled. The U.S. District Court for D.C. ruled Thursday that the USDA and the Department of Government Efficiency violated the Administrative Procedure Act by terminating awards without adequate review or explanation.
Judge Beryl Howell’s injunction restores six grants, including funding for the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and Agroecology Commons. However, the ruling does not cover the hundreds of other grants also at stake. The decision follows similar injunctions earlier this year, when cities such as Nashville and Baltimore regained access to infrastructure funds cut under cost-cutting efforts.
Howell rejected the government’s argument that the case belonged in the Court of Federal Claims, finding it centered on Congress’s directives and notice requirements under the APA. Many of the grants, created through the Inflation Reduction Act and Cooperative Forestry Act, had been targeted by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, who dismissed them as “woke DEI propaganda.”
Federal cuts put refugee farm programs at risk (Civil Eats): Refugee incubator farms, which provide land and training for immigrants to grow food for their families and local markets, are facing growing financial strain. About 50 such farms have launched nationwide over the past three decades, including the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots program, which now operates 13 farms in nine states. In 2023, those farms produced $3.3 million worth of fruits and vegetables, with roughly $500,000 distributed to low-income households.
But the future of many of these farms is uncertain. Cuts to refugee resettlement funding and the cancellation of USDA small farm grants under the Trump administration have removed key sources of support for staffing and infrastructure like greenhouses and cold storage. At the New Roots farm in West Sacramento, staff hours have been reduced, and other farms have scaled back transportation and marketing assistance for growers. Advocates warn that without renewed investment, many refugee farms may not survive, threatening a model that has helped thousands of newcomers gain income, improve diets, and contribute to local food systems.