Other Ag News:
(Washington, D.C., July 24, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), refocusing its core operations to better align with its founding mission of supporting American farming, ranching, and forestry.
(Washington, D.C., July 23, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued a statement congratulating President Donald J. Trump on the major trade breakthrough that gives greater access to U.S. beef producers selling to Australia:
Under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture are accelerating federal efforts to address the growing concerns around ultra-processed foods and the current epidemic of diet-related chronic disease that is plaguing America.
(Washington, D.C., July 23, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announces the kick-off event and programming for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Great American Farmers Market on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In celebration with America 250, the event will be hosted during National Farmers Market Week and will run this summer from Sunday, August 3 to Friday, August 8, daily from 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET.
Release: Bipartisan Senate Bill Boosts Local Farmers and Expands Access to Healthy Food for Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
press@sustainableagriculture.net
Tel. 347.563.6408
Release: Bipartisan Senate Bill Boosts Local Farmers and Expands Access to Healthy Food for FamiliesWashington, DC, July 22, 2025 – On Friday, July 18, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jim Justice (R-WV) introduced the Strengthening Local Food Security (SLFS) Act of 2025 (S. 2338). The SLFS Act would catalyze new market opportunities for local farmers and food businesses while providing nutritious foods to communities in need. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds Senators Reed and Justice for offering a bipartisan solution that readies producers with reliable markets, allowing them to invest and expand their operations.
“The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) purchases billions of dollars of food annually for federal nutrition programs, yet these purchases are mostly made from a small number of the largest businesses. By localizing purchasing decisions, buyers can work with farmers based on both their existing scale as well as the needs of the community. The Supporting Local Food Systems Act would create local channels that allow for small, mid-size, and beginning farmers to successfully secure contracts in federal nutrition programs,” said Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist, in response to the bill’s introduction.
“The recent growth in local supply chains has demonstrated real economic benefits for agricultural communities. Farmers are establishing new relationships with institutions, diversifying their wholesale farm revenue, and investing in on-farm infrastructure to meet this new demand,” Quigley added.
The SLFS Act creates a pathway for USDA to enter into cooperative agreements with states and tribal governments to purchase locally grown and raised foods from small, mid-sized, beginning, veteran, or underserved fishers, farmers, and ranchers for distribution in school nutrition and community food assistance programs. These agreements will strengthen the burgeoning relationships between local producers and institutions. The bill also includes support for technical assistance initiatives to support farmers in food safety planning, training, and upgrades required to scale to new commercial wholesale markets.
“The double impact of this initiative puts more healthy, local foods on students’ plates, while getting more dollars directly to producers. It’s an important step toward making sure federal child nutrition programs can be market channels that strengthen the resilience of our supply chain in each community,” commented Karen Spangler, Director of the National Farm to School Network, an NSAC member.
Find more details in the bill text.
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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more: https://sustainableagriculture.net/
The post Release: Bipartisan Senate Bill Boosts Local Farmers and Expands Access to Healthy Food for Families appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
(Washington, D.C., July 21, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today in Florida met with agricultural leaders and producers and announced additional U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance to help producers recover from Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton. Secretary Rollins signed a block grant agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) that provides recovery assistance for Floridian farmers.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
press@sustainableagriculture.net1
Tel. 347.563.6408
Release: Strong Farms, Strong Futures Act IntroducedWashington, DC, July 18, 2025 – On Wednesday, Representatives Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) introduced the Strong Farms, Strong Futures Act. This bill directs NRCS to establish region and production-specific climate change mitigation bundles within CSP. This expands options available to producers and increases financial support for practices that improve climate resilience and provide additional benefits like increased soil health and water quality. These incentives will help producers expand their climate stewardship and empower more producers to be leaders of America’s ongoing efforts to build innovative conservation systems.
“The Strong Farms, Strong Futures Act provides ever greater producer choice in the Conservation Stewardship Program. This bill strengthens CSPs ability to provide robust cost-share for producers building complex, innovative conservation systems on their farms, conservation systems that will make them more resilient, profitable, and ecologically sound.” – Jesse Womack, Conservation Policy Specialist at NSAC.
The SFSFA builds on previous legislation introduced by Underwood, creating even more options for producers in CSP. The bill provides increased cost-share for important climate and conservation production systems, focusing the highest levels of cost share on producers doing the most complex conservation work within their operation. This bill ensures that producers who accept the risk of leadership in their conservation efforts are eligible for the highest levels of federal support.
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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more: https://sustainableagriculture.net/
The post Release: Strong Farms, Strong Futures Act Introduced appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
What does it take to grow mushrooms indoors? To answer this question, our agroforestry and mushroom specialist, Connor Youngerman, takes podcast listeners on a tour of Queens, venturing into nondescript buildings and ducking into basement hatches to discover the innovative world of indoor mushroom production. On the most recent episode of Small Farms Radio, Youngerman learns how some growers in the big city are producing mushrooms from “spore-to-table” and every step in between.
Small Farms Radio · Episode 6 – Fungi on the FarmThe first stop was to meet Louis Vassar, a self-described amateur mycologist. Youngerman met him at Biotech without Borders, a community biology lab in Long Island City, Queens. This unassuming building serves as a “makerspace” for microbiologists. Vassar uses tools and techniques from microbiology to produce mushroom spawn, the foundational material used to inoculate substrates to grow mushrooms. Spawn are clones of existing strains of mushroom mycelium. Vassar works under a flow hood, which creates a sterile bubble to keep competitors in the air away from the freshly made spawn and substrate. The spawn created in Vassar’s lab are sold and used by small-scale mushroom growers.
In the next step of his journey, Youngerman met Smita and Ithu Chakma, owners of Big Apple Fungi in Forest Hills, Queens. He followed them down a basement hatch to find a space alive with racks of inoculated mushroom blocks and a multitude of different varieties of fruiting mushrooms in climate-controlled tents. Together, the Chakmas produce 250 to 300 pounds of mushrooms every week, focusing on varieties rarely seen in grocery stores.
The final stop is Cam’s Urban Farm, a compact and efficiently designed basement grow operation run by Cam Bremner. As the solo operator, Bremner has engineered his setup to maximize output using minimal space. He walks Youngerman through his streamlined process, from producing spawn to selling mushrooms directly to local restaurants.
“I can grow 300 pounds of mushrooms a week out of 850 square feet of space, that kind of output is just completely unheard of in any [other] farming,” Bremner said. He views urban farming as a core principle of his work and he believes it is the future of agriculture.
“Every single farm that I visited is different and there’s so much creativity that gets embedded into every step in growing mushrooms,” Youngerman told podcast host Jamie Johnson as he reflected on his trip to Queens. “I came away just in awe of how creative and diverse and accessible mushroom farming can be — and that delights me.”
If you’re curious about growing mushrooms yourself, visit the Cornell Small Farms Program’s Specialty Mushrooms project page. It is a clearinghouse for mushroom resources, PDF guides, and online courses.
Youngerman also has some advice for beginning mushroom growers. Before diving into full-scale production, first try a ready-to-fruit block. See if you enjoy growing mushrooms and, more importantly, eating them.
The post Fungi on the Farm: Small Farms Radio Explores Indoor Mushroom Production appeared first on Cornell Small Farms.
(Washington, D.C., July 17, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the U.S. Forest Service is awarding $80 million in Wood Innovation Grants to spur wood products manufacturing, expand active forest management, and accelerate energy innovation across America’s timber-producing communities.
WASHINGTON, July 17, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is now accepting applications for its upcoming agribusiness trade mission to Mexico City, Mexico, scheduled for November 3–6. U.S. exporters interested in exploring trade opportunities in Mexico’s dynamic agricultural market must apply by Thursday, July 31, 2025.
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