Category Archives: Agriculture News

Trump Names USDA Undersecretary Nominees

President Donald Trump has a list of undersecretary nominees for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Via social media, Trump announced that he will nominate Richard Fordyce as Agriculture undersecretary for farm production and conservation; Dudley Hoskins as undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs; Luke Lindberg as undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs; and Michael…MORE

Ag Groups Write Senators Backing USDA Secretary Nominee Rollins

427 national and state agricultural groups and agribusinesses recently sent a letter to leaders of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee supporting Brooke Rollins’ nomination as Agriculture Secretary. The letter also calls on the committee and entire Senate to “promptly confirm” her for the Cabinet post. The Senate Agriculture Committee has set Rollins confirmation hearing for…MORE

John Deere Expands Self-Repair Options

John Deere says it’s aiming at a long-standing issue that has been a major source of contention with equipment owners: the right to self-repair their equipment. In a release, the company says it’s made a “significant step forward in supporting the customers’ ability to maintain and repair their machines across the agricultural and construction industries.”…MORE

Right to Repair Farm Equipment Lawsuit

Farm Action reacted to the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against John Deere over the right to repair. The Commission alleges John Deere is illegally driving up costs by forcing farmers to repair their equipment at authorized dealers. Farm Action’s Chief Strategy Officer Joe Maxwell says they applaud the FTC for taking this bold action to…MORE

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Ag Land Increases

The latest report on foreign ownership of U.S. ag land shows that 45.85 million acres of U.S. farmland were held by foreign investors in 2023. That represents 3.61% of total privately-held agricultural land in the U.S. This marks a 1.58-million-acre, or 3.6% increase from 2022 and a five-million-acre rise since the American Farm Bureau’s last…MORE

Farm Equipment Sales Continue Slump

According to new data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, sales of agricultural tractors and combines fell in the United States during December 2024 compared to the previous year. U.S. sales of agricultural tractors fell 11.3%, while combine sales fell 26.4% in December 2024 compared to December 2023. “December’s sales of ag tractors and combines…MORE

Government Help Might Not Offset Farm Income Losses

Researchers are still projecting negative returns for grain producers even after assistance from Washington, highlighting the extent of the downturn in the agricultural industry. U.S. farmers and ranchers have access to $10 billion in economic aid as part of the farm bill extension passed at the end of 2024 to offset broad income declines. However,…MORE