The Republican National Convention moves into its third day, with a focus on national security. But we can expect a continued focus on immigration and China as well as the Middle East.
The premier agriculture-themed event of the convention is the “Great American Farm Fair,” a luncheon today at Malchine Farms, a corn, soybean and cattle operation outside Milwaukee. House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., are honorary chairs of the event.
On Tuesday night, the delegates heard from the party’s Senate candidates, including former Rep. Mike Rogers, who’s running to succeed retiring Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow in Michigan. Rogers used his convention speech to take aim at electric vehicles. Rogers asserted that “EV mandates will destroy American jobs” and require the use of critical minerals produced in China.
Take note: Speaking in primetime, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders touted her state’s success in forcing Syngenta to divest a research farm in Arkansas because of the company’s Chinese ties. “I’m proud to be the first and only governor to get Communist China off our farmland and out of my state,” she said.
California livestock producer likes Trump trade policy
Farmers interviewed by Agri-Pulse at the GOP convention continue to defend his trade policy. They include Martin Emigh, a sheep and cattle producer in California, who says Trump helped “level the playing field” for U.S. producers during his administration.
“We’re doing great now, but I believe that’s due to the pressures that Trump put in place when he was in office. And we need him back in office to maintain this, so we can keep going and keep making it great again.”
Keep in mind: Beef producers were among the biggest ag beneficiaries of a bilateral trade deal the Trump administration negotiated with Japan after Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, multilateral trade deal that included the U.S. and Japan.
Check out our weekly Agri-Pulse newsletter for more on Trump’s trade plans. We also have an analysis of the impact of a major Supreme Court decision.
House Ag member attacked at RNC
House Ag Committee member Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., says he was assaulted by a protester while waiting in line to enter an event in Milwaukee Tuesday. “A nearby police officer witnessed this assault and I understand they have been arrested. This appears to be an incident of political violence and I will never tolerate this,” Van Orden said in a post on X.
He said the protesters appeared to be supporting Hamas. WSN News quoted Milwaukee police as saying “a 24-year-old woman ‘battered’ the victim, adding that the victim had minor injuries.”
Scenes from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee
Donald Trump watched the evening's keynote speeches, including one by former challenger Nikki Haley. Photos by Lydia Johnson.
CDC: High temps, working conditions likely contributed to workers’ infections
High temperatures may have played a role in the transmission of bird flu to poultry workers in Colorado, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nirav Shah, CDC’s principal deputy director, told reporters the workers, who were culling chickens in preparation for destroying them, faced challenges wearing Personal Protective Equipment. “Colorado was experiencing 104-plus-degree heat,” Shah said. The barns “were no doubt even hotter.” The state reported five infected workers, and CDC has confirmed four of those.
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The culling method itself “entailed workers moving from chicken to chicken, increasing the degree of interaction with each potentially infected bird,” Shah said. In addition, large-scale industrial fans spread feathers around and made it more difficult for workers to maintain proper seals on their PPE.
“Our investigation is underway, but these factors do highlight a pathway for prevention, specifically through even more symptomatic use of PPE as well as engineering controls to help reduce exposure risk.
Eric Deeble, USDA’s USDA deputy undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, confirmed that the poultry enterprise is located in Weld County, where dairy herds have tested positive for H5N1.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has now been found in 13 states, with a detection reported last week by Oklahoma.
John Deere steps back from DEI commitment
John Deere says it will no longer “participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals or events,” reacting to criticism of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
The move closely follows Tractor Supply Company's decision to reevaluate employee support and social stances during Pride Month, angering some agricultural minority groups.
In a statement posted on X, Deere says the use of "pronoun identification” and diversity quotas “have never been and are not a company policy.” Deere also plans to audit all training material to ensure there are no “socially motivated messages.”
“We will prioritize internal policies that more closely align our business strategy to meet the needs of our customers,” the statement says.
National WIC Association names named official president and CEO
Georgia Machell was officially named the president and CEO of the National WIC Association Monday after serving in the role in an interim capacity since September.
Machell, only the third permanent head of the organization since 1990, joined NWA in 2015. Moving into the official role, she told Agri-Pulse she’s focused on protecting and promoting WIC during the appropriations process, supporting the WIC workforce and innovating the participant experience.
She said the Senate agriculture appropriations bill that advanced last week, which contains $7.7 billion for WIC in fiscal year 2025, is on the right track in comparison to last year. “I think we are very much of the mind that anyone who is eligible for WIC should be able to participate in WIC, and it is the role of Congress to make sure that that can happen by providing sufficient funding,” she said.
Menendez guilty on all counts
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez was found guilty by a federal jury in New York on all 16 counts he was charged with, including bribery and acting as an agent of Egypt.
You may recall: At his trial, Ted McKinney, who served as USDA’s deputy secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs during the Trump administration, said Menendez had pressured him to stop looking into a halal certification monopoly that Egypt had granted Will Hana, who had no experience in the practice.
Prosecutors alleged Hana bribed Menendez with gold bars and cash. Menendez’s wife worked at Hana’s company.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., immediately called for Menendez to resign.
Rebeka Alvey, Philip Brasher and Lydia Johnson contributed to today’s Daybreak.
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