September 19, 2025

An ag policy specialist says he’s concerned about staff shortages within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ben Lilliston, director of rural strategies and climate change with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, says local offices, specifically, have seen a decline in employees. “Fewer staff means more difficulty for farmers to access programs and the […] The post IATP cites concerns over USDA staffing, reorganization appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A southern Illinois farmer says he’s not concerned about hay reserves despite a severe late summer drought. Granvil Travis, who raises cattle and row crops in Massac County, says he’s already started supplemental feeding of some hay to give his pastures some relief. “The pastures are short now because of how dry it’s been.”  He […] The post Southern Illinois farmer confident in cattle feed options despite drought appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A past chair of the United Soybean Board says increasing access to soy-based firefighting foam could create another opportunity to expand demand.  Steve Reinhard says the Ohio Soybean Council is working with its state partners to help fire departments replace hazardous forever chemicals with a safer alternative. “It’s good for our first responders, it’s good […] The post Soy-based firefighting foam replacing PFAS chemicals in Ohio appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture is increasingly bullish on export opportunities with India. Mike Naig says this month’s trade mission marked the second time he’s visited the country during the past year. “You just go another layer deeper when you travel back to a market in that kind of timeframe. So big takeaways continue to be […] The post Naig: India’s growing protein “gap” could boost U.S. soy, grain exports appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The senior science fellow with Nutrien Ag Solutions says it’s looking like another year with La Niña conditions in the Pacific. Eric Snodgrass tells Brownfield, “This will be our fourth in five years.”  He says, “I’m watching it, but I’m more interested in how warm the North Pacific is.” Snodgrass says La Niña typically brings […] The post La Niña’s Return: What a warm North Pacific could mean for this winter appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

The ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee tells Brownfield progress is being made on the farm bill. Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig says leadership is working through the remaining titles. “We are sitting down at the table, working with majority to share the Democratic priorities for what some are calling the skinny farm bill and […] The post Craig: farm bill negotiations ongoing, bipartisanship still unclear appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story

A U.S. Congressman says a scaled back version of the farm bill faces an uphill battle in Washington. Mike Flood, a Republican from Nebraska, says reaching an agreement on government funding before October 1 is the main priority for lawmakers. “If we end up in a protracted, long government funding fight where there’s a shutdown, […] The post Flood says skinny farm bill faces rocky road ahead appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story