By Jasper Ward WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) – U.S. federal prosecutors have accused two Chinese nationals of smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen that had the potential to be used as an agricultural terrorism weapon into the United States for research. The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday identified the pathogen as Fusarium…

In recently released budget documents, the Trump administration has proposed a nearly $7 billion reduction in USDA funding for 2026. Almost $1.2 billion would come from the department’s primary farmer-facing agencies. USDA has described its Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area as the “focal point for the nation’s farmers…

In a recent article, I examined USDA’s Swampbuster Act, which sets out conservation practice requirements for farmers who participate in USDA programs. It included different situations where farmers may run afoul of the act and the penalties that can be imposed for violations. In this article, I will discuss options…

By Cami Koons A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld lower court decisions barring counties from imposing safety standards on a pipeline subject to federal safety standards.  The cases involved Summit Carbon Solutions, the company proposing to build a carbon sequestration pipeline through the state, and county supervisors from both…

The pork industry suffered one of the worst economic years on record in 2023. As producers now grapple with the uncertainty of tariffs, Agri-Pulse Newsmakers spoke with Kevin Stuckey, sow unit manager at Cooper Farms in Ohio; Chris Ford, VP corporate swine lender at Farm Credit Services of America; and…

By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, June 6 (Reuters) – The European Union is open to lowering tariffs on U.S. fertiliser imports as an offer in trade talks with the Trump administration, but will not weaken its food safety standards in pursuit of a deal, EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen told Reuters. “That is definitely an…