As 2025 begins, organic stakeholders are preparing for changes in the political and funding landscape for organic agriculture. New leadership will be appointed at the USDA, though that appointment is forthcoming with no advertised timeline.
The Secretary of Agriculture under the previous Trump administration was nominated in mid-January 2017, the last cabinet position to be filled. Secretary Sonny Perdue presided over the USDA as a trade war raged with a key buyer of US farm products: China.
Perdue infamously quipped that big farms get bigger, and the small are likely to fail. While this tracks with economic reality, agricultural programs are powerful tools that shape the agricultural economy in profound ways.
Hearing the top official presiding over these programs announce that there was little hope for small farms angered farmers and farm groups, eliciting calls for resignation and rebuke from within…
02.21.2025
US animal fats and oils markets finish week strong; broader uncertainty persists
The US animal fats and oils markets ended Friday February 21 on a relatively quiet note, though broader market developments throughout the week have added ongoing uncertainty to the...
02.21.2025
Sausage casings bulletin, February 21, 2025
Runner market commentary
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02.21.2025
US weekly net soybean meal exports, sales retreat again
In the week to February 13, US net soybean meal and soybean cake sales and exports continued to decline but were above most analysts' estimates, data released by the...