In 2024, rural America played a large role in carrying Donald Trump to the White House for a second time. Across the country, hurricanes damaged ag infrastructure in Florida, the Carolinas and the Southeastern U.S., and H5N1 spread to dairy cattle.
After months in development, a farm bill passed out of the House Ag Committee with four Democratic votes and guarded optimism, but the legislation never even made it to the House floor. In December, lawmakers passed a continuing resolution that included a new year-long extension of the 2018 farm bill, plus $10 billion in ag market relief and $21 billion in disaster aid for agricultural losses from hurricanes, wildfire and other weather events.
Here’s a look at the top news stories for each month — lightly edited to avoid a few cases of duplication — based on Agri-Pulse web traffic analytics.
January
Exclusive poll: Farmers favor Trump, hold grim view of country's track
The year began with much uncertainty about the election, including whether Donald Trump would be able to run successfully for president given his various legal entanglements. In a poll of producers across the country commissioned by Agri-Pulse, farmers and ranchers said the nation was on the wrong track and voiced strong support for the former president.
Also in the news:
Dairy Farmers of America buys first inset carbon credits: The largest milk marketing cooperative in the U.S. made the first purchase of verified carbon credits within the livestock value chain from one of its Texas dairy farmer owners. The buy represented the first transaction in the carbon insetting marketplace.
California unveils LCFS changes for dairy digesters, jet fuel and renewable diesel: In the West, the California Air Resources Board drafted a regulatory proposal that rejected environmentalist calls to drop dairy digesters from the state's low carbon fuel standard. However, market uncertainly still lingers for the rapidly growing technology.
February
Dicamba registrations vacated – again
A federal judge vacated the 2020 registrations of dicamba, a herbicide that has been embroiled in controversy ever since it was first approved in 2016, because of off-target damage. David Bury, a U.S. district judge in Arizona, determined EPA violated notice-and-comment requirements when it issued “new use” registrations for cotton and soybean dicamba-tolerant crops, including Bayer’s Xtendimax, BASF’s Engenia, and Syngenta’s Tavium.
Also in the news:
Bill Northey, former USDA undersecretary
Vilsack: Ag faces ‘chaos’ if other states follow California on Prop 12: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned lawmakers during a five-hour House Agriculture Committee hearing that the Supreme Court’s decision upholding California’s Proposition 12 could lead to “chaos” if other states follow suit and impose their own standards for food products.
Bill Northey, Iowa ag leader and former USDA undersecretary, dies: Former Iowa ag secretary and Trump administration USDA leader Bill Northey died, leaving behind numerous family and friends and a legacy of farm policy leadership. He was 64.
CropLife America names new CEO: CropLife America selected a Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency veteran, Alexandra Dunn, as its new president and CEO.
March
Vilsack accused of both employing CCC as 'slush fund' – and unfairly limiting its use
Vilsack was under fire again from House Republicans over the Commodity Credit Corporation, this time not just for suggesting the CCC could be used to supplement farm bill funding but also for declining to use it to make disaster relief payments to some California producers.
Also in the news:
GREET’s just the start. Some in biofuel industry look to EPA action on jet fuel, too: With the arrival of spring, the biofuel industry was eagerly awaiting the Biden administration’s update of a model for meas
Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. uring the carbon intensity of sustainable aviation feedstocks to determine their eligibility for valuable new tax incentives. However, industry officials cautioned that the update is only one in several policy actions that will be needed to get SAF production off the ground.
Bridge collapse cuts off Baltimore port, site of major sugar refiner: The Port of Baltimore, a significant shipping point for U.S. sugar imports, suspended traffic March 26 after a container ship slammed into and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, shutting the main channel leading into the Chesapeake Bay.
April
USDA mandates electronic tags for some cattle, bison
USDA said it will start requiring that certain cattle and bison have electronic eartags in order to be moved from one state to another.
“Rapid traceability in a disease outbreak will not only limit how long farms are quarantined, keep more animals from getting sick, and help ranchers and farmers get back to selling their products more quickly – but will help keep our markets open,” said Michael Watson, administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Also in the news:
Thompson sets May for farm bill action, says he found way to fund growers' safety net: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson said in early April he planned to move a bipartisan farm bill through the panel in May and that he id
House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson and Ranking Member David Scott. entified a way to pay for changes to commodity programs and crop insurance. House Democrats later in the month countered the offer by releasing a farm bill proposal suggesting to use the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation funding authority to shore up commodity programs and crop insurance.
USDA tries to find how H5N1 avian influenza spread to dairy cows: After the first diagnosis in dairy cattle in March, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service worked to figure out how the avian influenza virus in dairy cattle was being spread within and among herds.
Rise in rural drug overdoses strains federal resources: The rate of fatal drug overdoses has been rising more rapidly in rural areas for the past decade. Although the overall overdose death rate continues higher in urban and suburban America, the escalation in rural America has been more pronounced in recent years.
May
Republicans score committee approval of farm bill with crucial Democratic backing
Republicans pushed their $1.5 trillion farm bill through the House Agriculture Committee after over 12 hours of debate with the help of four critical Democratic votes. Although the committee passage gave the massive piece of legislation momentum, it never made it to the full House for a vote.
Also in the news:
House Ag GOP farm bill boosts reference prices sharply, but leaves funding gap: Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee proposed to spend more than $50 billion to shore up commodity programs and crop insurance, including a reference price increase of nearly 20% for soybean producers.
Bill Tomson and Cuba President Raúl Castro during a 2022 visit.
Agri-Pulse senior trade editor Bill Tomson dies after fight with cancer: After joining Agri-Pulse in 2016, he quickly stood out for his ability to get scoops on trade topics. Tomson traveled across Brazil in 2018 providing updates on the country's growth in agriculture and infrastructure improvements. During a trip to Cuba in 2022, he met with President Raúl Castro to discuss expansion of agricultural trade with the island nation.
FDA OKs Bovaer, methane-reducing feed ingredient in dairy cattle: The Food and Drug Administration confirmed the safety and efficacy of methane-reducing feed ingredient Bovaer in lactating dairy cows which could significantly reduce their enteric emissions.
June
Supreme Court overrules Chevron doctrine, potentially weakening regulatory agencies
The Supreme Court dumped its Chevron doctrine that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretation of ambiguous laws in an opinion issued in late June that makes environmental and other laws vulnerable to legal challenges.
Also in the news:
Chicken growers get boost from new tournament proposal: Broiler chicken growers would be guaranteed a base price for their birds under a rule USDA proposed to reform the poultry tournament system. It was just the latest action taken by the department to address competition in the meat and poultry sector.
Bayer touts R&D pipeline with 'blockbuster' products: Bayer made the case this week that it’s in the best position to increase farm production to feed a growing world population while significantly reducing carbon emissions.
July
USDA says $2B has gone to farmers who faced discrimination
One-time payments totaling about $2 billion were issued by USDA to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners across the country who experienced discrimination in farm loan programs or did not receive equitable access to federal resources before the start of the Biden administration.
Also in the news:
Harris ag record covers farm labor, climate action, animal welfare: Although she hails from the nation's leading agricultural state, Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid, had not staked out strong positions on most national food and farm issues in her political career.
Donald Trump on stage with his wife, Melania, and running mate, JD Vance, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Senate Ag Republican: We’d be better off punting farm bill to next year: Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said at a American Farmers and Ranchers for Trump event during the Republican National Convention that farmers would be better off if work on a new farm bill is punted into 2025 when Republicans could be in control of the White House and both houses of Congress.
GOP platform calls for revoking China trade status, slashing regulations, making tax cuts permanent: The 16-page Republican Party’s draft 2024 platform released in early July called for revoking China’s trade status, reiterated Trump's proposal for across-the-board tariffs on imported products, and recommended making 2017 tax cuts permanent.
August
Agriculture Department unveils water conservation program for Western farmers
USDA launched a $400 million effort with 18 irrigation districts to pay Western farmers to cut back on water use, so long as they promise to keep farming. The funding is expected to conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet of water across 250,000 acres of irrigated farmland.
Also in the news:
Vance: ‘Fire the agriculture secretary’: While campaigning in Michigan, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance offered some suggestions for lowering food prices – firing the agriculture secretary and increasing oil and natural gas production.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaking. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
Rod Snyder stepping down from EPA's top ag position: In an exclusive conversation with Agri-Pulse, Snyder said he was stepping down as EPA’s top adviser for agriculture, describing the position as the “honor of my career" and expressing confidence that the agency's new Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will carry on long past the Biden administration.
DNC OKs platform that affirms Biden record on ag, targets stepped-up basis: Delegates approved a wide-ranging platform at the DNC that largely embraces environmental and other policies of the current administration — not surprising, given that the platform was written before Biden stepped aside in favor of Harris.
September
CEO compensation report: How industry organizations are paying their leaders
Leaders of the organizations that work to shape agriculture policy emerged from a pandemic to face new challenges, including a downturn in many commodity markets. Salaries for those leaders have risen significantly in some cases according to data compiled for the Agri-Pulse's annual CEO Ccmpensation report, reflecting in part the competition to find and retain talent.
Also in the news:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes visits to senators on Capitol Hill. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
RFK Jr. plugs ag reform on Capitol Hill amid talk of role with Trump: In one of his early visits to Capitol Hill to discuss the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and allies discussed the platform as the food and agriculture industry worried about what role he could play in a second Trump administration.
Newsom looks to sign nation’s first ban on ‘sell by’ dates for food labels: The California Legislature sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill to ban sell-by dates on food packaging, legislation aimed at clearing up consumer confusion and cutting food waste.
Washington Week Ahead: Farmers team up for last-ditch farm bill appeal: Farmers who grow the crops being hammered the hardest by commodity market declines hit Capitol Hill in coalitions accompanied by ag bankers and Farm Credit lenders. The purpose of the their visits? To make a last-ditch push for a new farm bill.
October
Getting Grounded: Inside USDA’s efforts to staff up to meet farmers’ environmental challenges
In the first of a series of articles, Noah Wicks examines the nation's conservation delivery system and the mounting challenges facing farmers in getting the help and advice they need to select, plan and implement practices that can improve water and air quality, reduce water usage, increase wildlife habitat, make farms more climate-resilient and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Also in the news:
An eastern Tennessee farmer stands in his corn field flattened by Hurricane Helene. (Photo: Tennessee Farm Bureau)
Hurricane Milton hits phosphate production, damages citrus groves: The fourth hurricane to slam Florida agriculture in 14 months, Milton damaged citrus and other specialty crops, knocked out power to some dairy farms, and also struck a sizable portion of U.S. phosphate infrastructure.
FDA reportedly looking at Taylor Farms onions as E. coli outbreak source: The Food and Drug Administration investigated if onions supplied by Taylor Farms were the source of an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders that led to deaths.
November
Brooke Rollins, leader of Trump policy arm, picked for USDA
President of the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, Brooke Rollins, was selected to serve as agriculture secretary. In a post on X, she said "WHO’S READY TO MAKE AGRICULTURE GREAT AGAIN?"
Also in the news:
Brooke Rollins with incoming Senate Ag Committee Chairman, John Boozman. The future of key agriculture IRA provisions under Trump 2.0: The Biden administration and congressional Democrats have steered billions into climate policy, including biofuel tax incentives. Industry groups say they're counting on bipartisan support to persuade GOP congressional leaders and the incoming Trump administration to leave those incentives in place.
December
Congress clears stopgap with farm bill extension, $10B in market relief
After a week of high drama, lawmakers cleared a stopgap spending bill that includes $21 billion in ag disaster assistance, $10 billion in market relief for farmers, and a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill. Dropped from the bill was a debt limit increase that President-elect Donald Trump had demanded.
Also in the news:
Musk opposition to year-end bill throws farm aid in doubt: Elon Musk’s full-throated opposition to a massive stopgap funding bill forced House GO
Stephen Vaden, appointed USDA deputy secretaryP leaders to rethink the legislation, leaving in doubt $31 billion in disaster aid and market relief for farmers.
Trump picks Vaden as deputy agriculture secretary: Stephen Vaden, a judge on the Court of International Trade who served as general counsel for USDA during Trump's first administration, was selected to be the department’s deputy secretary.
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