Policy Updates
Meridian Ag Advisor’s Wesley Davis puts data behind 10 puzzles in the 2026 farm economy. Three of them: land values that won’t fall, input costs that won’t ease and a downturn that looks like the 1980s until it doesn’t.
USDA to provide one-time payments to help offset soaring costs for diesel and other inputs, President Trump announced in a campaign rally ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
The latest extension of the 2018 Farm Bill expired Sept. 30 without Congress reaching agreement on a new five-year package.
U.S. diesel prices have reached record highs, up 61% from the prior year, just as farmers prepare for the fuel-intensive fall harvest, putting additional pressure on already strained crop-farm margins.
The U.S. Department of Justice is expanding its investigation into high beef prices to include eight major retailers, broadening a probe that initially focused on the country’s largest meatpackers.
Farmers and rural organizations across the country are reporting growing difficulties accessing USDA services following a major reduction in the department’s workforce.
This week, President Donald Trump nominated Dr. Heidi Overton to serve as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but she faces criticism due to involvement in executive orders and lack of management experience.
The Senate Agriculture Committee failed to advance its Farm Bill after a 10-11 vote yesterday, with disagreements over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cost-sharing preventing the measure from moving forward before Congress’s August recess.
New state restrictions and a proposed AFIDA overhaul could reshape land deals, reporting, and due diligence for farmers.
Federal antitrust regulators reached settlements in two closely watched agriculture cases that could have significant implications for farmers and consumers.