Ag Industry Hit by Immigration Raids, Trade Delays, and a Deadly Screwworm Threat

President Donald Trump relied heavily on the rural vote for his election, but some of those voters have become increasingly anxious about his actions in recent weeks, especially when it comes to their farmworkers, uncertainty over new trade deals, and the MAHA movement. The Trump team also delivered some good news for farm country in the form of new investments to eradicate deadly screwworm, and favorable blending targets for fuel producers under the Renewable Fuel Standard. 

1. Ag Operations on the Hot Seat, but ‘Criminals Come First’

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will continue to conduct inspections of ag operations but will focus on criminal activity, White House border czar Tom Homan said Thursday.

After days of confusion over whether President Trump had carved out an exception for farms and hospitality operations, including hotels and restaurants, Homan told reporters, “The message is clear enough that we’re going to continue doing worksite enforcement operations even on farms and hotels.”

The ag industry has voiced concern about worksite raids and inspections that have ensnared immigrants working at farm operations and a meatpacking plant. Part of that concern derives from ICE arresting workers beyond those for whom they have warrants.

Asked about guidance that went to regional offices apparently telling agents to hold off at ag and hospitality sites, Homan said, “It’s a matter of proper messaging.” He said the worksite enforcement would continue, “but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first.”

2. New Plans to Battle Deadly Screwworm

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to open a new sterile fly facility at an inactive Air Force base in south Texas as part of the USDA’s efforts to stop the spread of New World Screwworm (NWS), a flesh-eating parasite that once wreaked havoc on the American livestock industry.

The $8.5 million facility, to be located about 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, will be completed in 2025, according to the USDA press release. Once built, the new facility could produce as many as 300 million flies per week for dispersal in northern Mexico, complementing existing production in Panama and Mexico.

The sterile insect technique uses radiation to sterilize mass-reared flies, which overwhelm NWS populations. It has successfully controlled and eradicated NWS since the 1950s.

3. New Hopes on Renewable Fuel

Biofuel and farm groups are generally hopeful that the Trump administration’s renewable fuel target proposal will support industry growth and prop up domestic feedstocks. But the lack of resolution on small refinery exemptions and the future of tax credits creates some uncertainty.

The Environmental Protection Agency released its long-awaited proposed Renewable Volume Obligations for 2026 and 2027. Those set blending targets for fuel producers under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Parties have to demonstrate compliance with renewable volume obligations (RVOs) by submitting renewable identification numbers that are generated for each gallon of renewable fuel produced or imported. 

The proposed 2026 RVO is 24.02 billion gallons. This includes 15 billion gallons for ethanol, 5.61 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel, 9.02 billion for advanced biofuel, and 1.3 billion gallons for cellulosic biofuel. 

In 2027, the total RVO would grow to 24.46 billion gallons. Ethanol volumes would remain the same, but biomass-based diesel volumes would increase to 5.86 billion gallons.

“Any way you look at this, this proposal is a huge win for the soybean farmer or the livestock producer; anyone who is contributing fats and oils to the market is going to benefit from this,” said Kurt Kovarik, vice president of federal affairs at the Clean Fuels Alliance, a trade association for the sustainable and renewable fuel industries. 

4. Senator Wants More Trade Deals, Less Tariff Uncertainty

President Trump’s 90-day pause on many of the country-specific reciprocal tariffs is set to expire in less than three weeks. The administration maintains pacts with countries seeking to avoid those duties are forthcoming, but some on Capitol Hill are becoming anxious over the pace of negotiations.

“I want it to speed up as quickly as possible,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Agri-Pulse this week.

Shortly after Trump announced the sweeping new duties on April 2, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business Network that the U.S. would use the threat of the new duties to chase “90 deals in 90 days.” But more than two months after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff splurge, the administration is well short of this mark, having signed just one trade framework with the United Kingdom and negotiated a tariff detente with China.

The uncertainty around which tariff rates will apply to U.S. trade partners after the pause ends is complicating investment and business decisions and clouding economists’ economic outlooks — including the Federal Reserve’s. On Wednesday, the Fed opted to keep interest rates flat, with Chair Jerome Powell citing ongoing tariff uncertainty.

“We need to return some certainty to our economy,” Johnson told Agri-Pulse.

5. Message to the MAHA Movement: Time to Include Farmers and Foodies

Farm organizations from across the country are telling the Trump administration that farmers and the food industry should be consulted by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission as it continues work on recommendations for food and agriculture policy.

“The process by which the commission’s most recent report was created lacked transparency and any opportunity for public engagement. As a result, the report contained numerous errors and distortions that have created unfounded fears about the safety of our food supply,” the organizations said in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

“While we appreciate recent outreach to some stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector to genuinely provide the transparency and gold-standard science pledged in the report,” the letter continued, “we urge the administration to formally include farmers, ranchers, and food producers in a collaborative stakeholder process throughout all future work of the commission.”

The letter, dated June 13, was publicly released Tuesday.

The commission is expected to form a federal strategy over the next 100 days that is likely to include more definitive policy recommendations.

The commission’s initial report, which came under fire for numerous erroneous citations, reiterated many of the MAHA movement’s criticisms about the role ultraprocessed foods, added sugars, food dyes, and additives play in American’s diets. Overall, the report suggests a shift toward a whole-food diet and touts the nutritional benefits of foods such as whole milk, dairy, beef, leafy greens, and legumes. 

The report also cited studies linking exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, with adverse health outcomes.

The farm groups expressed concern that the report will raise unfounded fears about the safety of the U.S. food supply and set back progress enabled by technological advances.

Agri-Pulse is a trusted source in Washington, D.C., with the largest editorial team focused on food and farm policy coverage.