Doubts cast over pig farm methane credits in China One-third of projects may have gone ahead even without the credit revenue, new research reveals

For a deeper investigation into swine manure offset projects, see Christian Shepherd’s article today in Dialogue Earth: dialogue.earth/en/climate/d...

DOJ Steps Up Scrutiny of Agriculture Markets Amid Rising Prices As millions of Americans face an affordability crisis, the Justice Department is homing in on the agriculture industry, focusing on the rising costs faced by farmers and ranchers and soaring prices of...

Activity by Trump's DOJ on ag market competition issues, including beef, fertilizer, egg sectors. Launching investigations doesn't mean action will be taken.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

1. Boy, Amazon is in a heap of trouble. Evidence made public yesterday by California AG @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov shows blatant price fixing. And there are so many examples. Here's Amazon scheming with a pet food supplier to get Chewy to raise its prices.

Mexico's Sheinbaum demands explanation after U.S. officials die assisting in Chihuahua operation Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she was unaware of any collaboration between the U.S. and local authorities in Chihuahua after four officials died in an accident over the weekend.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday she would demand explanations after four U.S. and Mexican officials died in an accident over the weekend, adding she was unaware of collaboration between the U.S. and the local government in northern Chihuahua. https://to.pbs.org/3OiMzO1

Of course, USDA can't just dip into tariff revenue and fund new fertilizer plants. And how much tariff revenue will remain after the refund process is unclear. Will be interesting to see where these "tens of billions of dollars" come from.

‘Nothing but tree skeletons’: record-breaking wildfires devastate US cattle country Rising temperatures and extreme drought are driving more destructive spring fires across the Great Plains. This year, forces aligned to create the perfect storm in Nebraska

“As this fire ripped through here, it took all the grass,” he said. “There’s none left.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Record US drought sparks worries about fires, water supply and food prices The contiguous United States is experiencing record drought levels for this time of year, according to weather data.

“All weather is now affected by climate change. There is no such thing as weather that’s divorced from climate trends. But this extreme event is extreme in the way that we’ve been expecting: extreme heat waves, intense drought.” apnews.com/article/drou...

American farmers bet on solar. Then Trump changed the rules. We tracked how the collapse of federal rural energy support is ending solar projects across farm country — and costing some developers millions they'll never get back.

So damaging and for what? What is #USDA doing with the dollars already allocated by Congress to support farmers who want solar?

grist.org/food-and-agr...

Exxon takes on California in legal battle that could shape U.S. climate disclosure The future direction of corporate disclosure in the U.S. continues to face uncertainty as litigation holds up California’s enforcement of major new climate reporting requirements.

A battle of heavyweights: Exxon v California. One side is arguing it has "free speech" rights to continue its multi-decadal project of lying about climate change, the other is asking all large companies in the state to truthfully disclose how they are handling climate risks. I like CA's odds.

ICE agent charged with assault in Minnesota for allegedly pointing gun at motorists Prosecutors say this is first criminal case against a federal agent involved in Trump’s immigration crackdown

BREAKING: Prosecutors in Minnesota have charged an ICE agent with two counts of assault related to a road rage incident. A nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

EU bets on voluntary action to reduce agricultural emissions, but who’s buying it? The European Commission has spent the last few years exploring policy options for putting a price on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in their efforts to meet the EU's new 2040 climate target. To...

With climate action off the EU's agenda for now, it appears the only instrument that could be adopted to reduce emissions in agriculture would be a voluntary carbon credit system. But the question is: who would volunteer to buy these credits, and why?

Read our latest: www.iatp.org/eu-bets-volu...

The (not so) hidden costs of increasing USDA crop insurance subsidies As USDA is cutting programs that support sustainability and market access for smaller farmers, the Department has made a series of changes to crop insurance subsidies mostly benefiting large commodity...

Fascinating new analysis from @jeffdiamond12.bsky.social for @iatp.bsky.social showing the staggering increase in crop insurance subsidies for what used to be relatively small parts of the program. Another bad thing accomplished by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. www.iatp.org/costs-increa...

A lot of independent restaurants concerned about how Sysco's proposed purchase will further consolidate the industry. How will Trump's FTC respond?

Opinion: Lawmakers have a chance to curb big agribusiness with farm bill Ben Lilliston of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy argues that the upcoming farm bill presents a rare bipartisan opportunity to curb excessive corporate power in agriculture by implementi...

Dems, Republicans, the Trump Admin are all talking about excess corporate power in ag - from fertilizer to the beef industry. But is it all talk, or will they act. Here, I write about how a set of fair competition policies could be included in the Farm Bill - www.agri-pulse.com/articles/245...

Agroecology Uprooted Episode One: SYSTEM FAILURE. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or at iatp.org.

As the war in Iran squeezes fertilizer supplies, there is renewed attention on the vulnerability of global food systems. But the roots of this crisis go much deeper, and the solutions may lie in an approach called agroecology. Listen to Ep.1 of Agroecology Uprooted now! www.iatp.org/agroecology-...

Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled ProPublica and FRONTLINE found more than 300 protesters and bystanders who were arrested on charges like assaulting an immigration agent or interfering with law enforcement. Over and over, the accusat...

NEW: “Arrest as many people that touch you as you want to," Gregory Bovino told Border Patrol officers in 2025.

But a review of hundreds of such arrests shows that charges brought against protesters and bystanders repeatedly fell apart under scrutiny.

w/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social

Here is my new article. Programs promoting sustainability are being cut while we see huge crop insurance subsidy increases, paid by taxpayers directly to insurers.

The (not so) hidden costs of increasing USDA crop insurance subsidies As USDA is cutting programs that support sustainability and market access for smaller farmers, the Department has made a series of changes to crop insurance subsidies mostly benefiting large commodity...

NEW: A series of changes to USDA crop insurance subsidies will cost the public an estimated additional $38.1 billion over ten years, mostly benefiting large commodity farms, and funneling billions directly to insurers. www.iatp.org/costs-increa...

Rural Minnesota economies under threat as feds cut safety net programs Small, outstate communities tend to rely more on funding from programs like Medicaid that face deep cuts under the 2025 federal budget.

Trump's budget bill last year will hit rural communities for years to come.

"in 23 of Minnesota’s 87 counties — all outside the seven-county Twin Cities metro — (govt) transfer receipts made up 30% or more of nonfarm income in 2023" - www.startribune.com/federal-bene...

Abt 2.5 million lbs of nitrate-nitrogen will pass by the town of Wapello in the Iowa River today.
About 1.6 million lbs will pass through keosauqua in the Des Moines River. 2 rivers, 1 day, 4.1 million lbs. That’s equal to contents of 1200 anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks that you see in fields now.

The chemical treadmill continues. Waterhemp winning again -

"The vast majority of our soybean acres here in Wisconsin currently are Enlist acres, so the big question is, 'Do I go with Enlist One (2,4-D)? Do I go with Liberty (glufosinate)? How about mixing?'" www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/...

A new immigration strategy shakes agro-industrial rural towns - Investigate Midwest Leer en español. Eliseo Affholter noticed a car following him, moving slowly as he walked through the streets of Milan, Missouri. Walking was his wind-down routine after work at a Kraft Heinz plant, where on Feb. 24, he had just finished a 12-hour overnight shift.  As he walked along East Grand Avenue, he saw flashing […]

Big meat corps have been quiet about ICE.

"Smithfield, said in an email that “there was no interruption to our business on Tuesday and we have not had any staffing issues,” referring to the day of the ICE arrests.

Workers described a different reality" investigatemidwest.org/2026/04/08/a...

Lawsuit alleges the state is not enforcing clean air rules for JBS giant meatpacking plant in Colorado - the same plant where workers have been on strike for poor working conditions. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

Booker and Colleagues Call on JBS to Negotiate Fair Contract as Colorado Meatpacking Strike Ends | U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey <p><strong>WASHINGTON, D.C. </strong>— U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are urging JBS USA, the world’s largest meat processor, to immediately negotiat...

Booker, Sanders, Gallego call on JBS to negotiate a fair contract with workers, cite the dangerous work of meat processing and the company's checkered history of violations - www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/b...

Map showing the percentage change in the number of SNAP participants between July 2025 and December 2025 in each state.

Last July, the Republican megabill (H.R. 1) enacted the deepest SNAP cuts in history. Today, we're releasing a tracker of how many people in each state are losing the SNAP benefits they need to afford groceries. www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

It comes down to two things: land and financing. Farm advocate Benny Bunting breaks down why banks find it easier to cut one deal with a large operator than to work with ten family farms, and what gets lost from communities when that human side of agriculture disappears.

USDA pause on manure-to-gas loans extended through the year The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended its moratorium on loans for anaerobic digesters — many of which are issued for large-scale farms that turn animal waste into gas — through the end of 2...

USDA extends a pause on government backed loans for expensive factory farm biogas projects. The financing has always been opaque + rising cases of bankruptcies and failures. There are much smarter renewable energy investments for USDA - solar/wind/efficiency. www.thenewlede.org/2026/04/usda...

Cargill to close Dayton grain elevator next year Ohio corn facility expected to remain operational for 20 months.

Cargill closing grain elevator in Ohio - the corn oversupply problem may be hitting. www.feedstuffs.com/agribusiness...

@nfucanada.bsky.social warns to not copy US ag policy, which incentivizes over-production, driving below-cost prices and farmers out. USMCA negotiations will be a test, as US big dairy interests want Trump Admin to weaken Canada's dairy program.

Environmental, Agriculture, and Community Groups Applaud Extended Pause of Manure Digester Federal Funding REAP was created to help farmers and rural small businesses cut energy costs and strengthen local economies; yet hundreds of millions of tax dollars have been funneled into expensive, polluting manure...

Factory farm manure digesters should not be subsidized by the government.

“These enormously expensive projects are not economically viable without significant government support, an alarm bell that they are a risky investment.” @benlilliston.bsky.social

earthjustice.org/press/2026/e...