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USDA unveils aggressive new action plan for farm, food security... USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled USDA’s strategy to protect the nation’s food and farm system, declaring, “Farm security is national security.”
Key actions outlined in the plan include:
- Securing farmland: “Land owned by foreign nationals — particularly those from countries of concern or other foreign adversaries — is a potential threat to national security and future economic prosperity.” USDA will “aggressively implement reforms” to increase transparency and tighten controls on foreign land ownership, including launching a new online reporting portal.
- Enhancing supply chain resilience: USDA will create a list of critical agricultural inputs — such as fertilizer, chemicals and minerals — needed for domestic security and will conduct regular risk assessments and simulation exercises, including “wartime scenario planning.”
- Fighting SNAP fraud: The agency pledges to “ensure all relevant programs comply with associated laws, regulations and Executive Orders; implement strengthened enforcement measures; clarify expectations for both States and authorized retailers to mitigate benefit trafficking and other types of fraud.”
- Defending research and innovation: “Securing our agricultural research enterprise from foreign influence, intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and agroterrorism threats will ensure taxpayer funds going toward science, technology, and innovation put American farmers and ranchers first and advance U.S. business innovation.”
- Safeguarding plant and animal health: The department will work with other agencies to detect, mitigate, and respond to threats like invasive pests and animal diseases, and partner with DARPA to “ensure agricultural projects they fund promote military readiness, protect U.S. plants and animals, and enhance agricultural security.”
- Protecting critical infrastructure: USDA will boost cyber-defense partnerships and training for agricultural businesses, saying, “attacks on agricultural companies, including cybersecurity threats, can disrupt essential operations and cause significant losses.”
Rollins says, “This Action Plan serves as the launching point for USDA to work in further unison with governors, state legislators and other partners to fully integrate agriculture into the broader national security enterprise over the coming months and years,” the department writes. “Together, we can and must protect and expand the resilience and durability of the U.S. food supply.”
The new initiative is a key pillar of the Trump administration’s “Make Agriculture Great Again” agenda, according to USDA, with the aim of prioritizing American farmers, ranchers and consumers over foreign interests. “Promoting agricultural and economic prosperity reaffirms the America First policy agenda, which prioritizes domestic security and economic self-sufficiency.” USDA pledges to “review, identify and subsequently eliminate all agreements… going to people and entities from countries of concern or other foreign adversaries,” ensuring that “all USDA funding will immediately be prioritized to be conducted in America using American-made technology, research and innovation.”
Trump will impose 50% tariff on copper imports, delays drug levies... President Donald Trump said he will announce a 50% tariff on imported copper, an effort to boost U.S. production. Trump did not say when the tariff would take effect.
The Trump administration announced a so-called Section 232 investigation into U.S. imports of copper in February. The deadline for the investigation to conclude is in November.
For pharmaceuticals, Trump said manufacturers will have “about a year, a year and a half” to relocate U.S.-bound production before facing tariffs as high as 200%. “After that they’re going to be tariffed if they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country,” Trump warned.
U.S. to resume talks with Iran, Trump confirms... President Donald Trump announced the U.S. and Iran will soon return to the negotiating table. The announcement comes in the wake of U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites — actions that prompted Iran to retaliate with missile attacks on a U.S. base in Qatar.
“We have scheduled Iran talks. They want to talk,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While the president did not provide a specific timeline, Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff indicated talks would take place “very quickly, in the next week or so.”
The recent cycle of escalation cooled after Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 23.
“They want to work something out,” Trump said of Iran, adding that Iranian officials are “very different now than they were two weeks ago.”
Prior to the strikes, the Trump administration had been in discussions with Iran focused on limiting its nuclear program.
U.S. warns blackouts could double as Trump administration extends coal, cuts solar... Blackouts across the U.S. could double by 2030, according to a new Trump administration report warning that rising electricity demand — driven largely by the artificial intelligence boom — will strain the grid if coal and gas power plant closures go ahead as planned.
The Energy Department in a statement released Monday said the country faces a “100% surge in power outages” within five years unless new power units are built to replace retiring plants. The report blames previous administrations’ push for renewables, calling wind and solar “unreliable” and warning that the current path “would undermine U.S. economic growth, national security, and leadership in emerging technologies.”
The warning comes just after passage of Trump’s fiscal package, which rolled back tax credits for wind and solar — potentially stalling further clean energy growth.
Cordonnier keeps corn, bean yields unchanged but could move higher... Crop consultant Dr. Michael Cordonnier kept his U.S. corn yield forecast at 180 bu. per acre, though he noted if weather remains favorable it could move higher. However, he has a lower bias toward harvested area compared to USDA’s June estimate of 86.774 million acres. Cordonnier said, “With the planted acreage report behind us, it is now all about the weather. July is the most important month for corn pollination and the corn crop entered the month in generally good condition with mostly adequate soil moisture. There were a few hot days to start the month, but the temperatures going forward are expected to be near normal with timely rains. No significant heat is expected. These are nearly ideal conditions for a successful pollination season.”
For soybeans, Cordonnier kept his yield forecast at 51.5 bu. per acre. While he has a neutral bias at this time, yield could move higher if weather remains favorable. Cordonnier said, “Soybeans are not rated quite as good as corn, but that could change with good weather in July and especially August. Soybeans can quickly recuperate after a less-than-ideal month of June if the weather during July cooperates. There were a few hot days to start the month of July, but the temperatures going forward are expected to be near normal with timely rains. No significant heat is expected. These are nearly ideal conditions for any soybeans that need to recuperate.”