May 6, 2025

15,000+ USDA Employees Accept Buyouts 

More than 15,000 USDA employees have taken one of the Trump administration’s two financial incentive offers to leave the agency, according to a readout from a USDA briefing with congressional staff seen by Reuters. The sum represents about 15% of the USDA’s total workforce. President Donald Trump’s administration has offered federal employees several months of pay and benefits if they opt to leave their jobs as part of his effort to shrink the federal workforce. The numbers could rise over the next month because employees over 40 were given more time to decide whether to leave. A USDA spokesperson confirmed the total number of staff departures and said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is working to make the agency more efficient. Rollins has exempted 53 position classifications from the ongoing federal hiring freeze, including wildland firefighters, veterinarians and food safety inspectors, to ensure critical agency functions continue, according to the spokesperson. 

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Economists Fear Ag is Headed into Recession 

Agricultural economists are growing even more pessimistic as the latest Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows the majority are concerned President Donald Trump’s tough stance on trade could push agriculture deeper into a recession while also giving Brazil more of a competitive edge. As one economist stated, the stakes are high, and the key is whether Trump’s policies push ag deeper into a recession, and if U.S. agriculture can survive without China. This month, 72% of those surveyed say the row crop side of agriculture is in a recession, up from 62% last month. Eighty-two percent of economists also think this could force more consolidation in agriculture. In the survey, 42% of economists said the current state of the ag economy is “somewhat worse” than a month ago, while 26% said it’s unchanged. But when you compare outlooks to a year ago, 58% of economists responded the ag economy is somewhat worse. 

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Farm Bill Markup Delayed Again 

House leaders are delaying a planned Agriculture Committee markup that was tentatively set for this week as big issues remain for the GOP’s massive domestic policy bill, according to two Republicans granted anonymity to relay the decision ahead of an official announcement. Politico reports the meeting had been expected on May 7 or 8, but it is now likely to push into next week. It’s the second megabill markup that Republican leaders have delayed in the past few days. The Energy and Commerce Committee also pushed back its own planned meeting alongside the tax-writing Ways and Means panel. Republicans are counting on Agriculture and Energy and Commerce to find the bulk of the spending cuts they are relying on to finance the GOP’s planned tax cuts. The Agriculture panel is still dealing with several serious issues from members raising concerns over deep cuts across the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.  

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Pending Tomato Tax Set to “Level the Playing Field” for U.S. Grown Product 

The Trump administration plans to put a nearly 21% duty on fresh Mexican tomatoes starting July 14. A duty — like a tariff — is a tax on imports, and this one would impact the 4 billion pounds of tomatoes the U.S. imports from Mexico each year. Proponents say the import tax will help rebuild the shrinking U.S. tomato industry and ensure the produce eaten in the U.S. is also grown there. Mexico currently supplies around 70% of U.S. tomato market, up from 30% two decades ago, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange. Robert Guenther, the trade group’s executive vice president, told AP, “Unless we even the playing field in terms of fair pricing, you’re not going to have a domestic industry for fresh tomatoes in the very near future.” Opponents say the duty will make fresh tomatoes more expensive for U.S. buyers.  

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Ag Ransomware Attacks on the Rise 

There were 84 ransomware attacks against the food and agriculture sector during the first three months of 2025, more than twice the number of intrusions during the same period last year. The Record reports ,ore than three-quarters of the intrusions were recorded in January and February, with ransomware already accounting for 53% of all cyberattacks against the industry during the quarter, according to a report from the Food and Ag-ISAC. Attacks against food and agriculture organizations have ramped up since the fourth quarter of last year due to the Clop hack of Cleo file sharing software, as well as persistent targeting of the Akira and RansomHub ransomware gangs, said the report. It also noted the elevated prevalence of outdated industrial control systems which significantly increases the vulnerability in the sector. Food and Ag-ISAC Director of Cyber Information Sharing Jonathan Bradley added that the issue is compounded by inadequate threat visibility.

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U of Illinois Researchers to Collaborate on Tech-Driven Projects 

The Center for Digital Agriculture and the Prairie Research Institute, two research entities at the University of Illinois, have partnered to offer seed funding for joint research projects. The initiative aims to facilitate collaborations that find innovative solutions for societal challenges using digital technologies to enhance agricultural sustainability. In addition to sparking joint research and development activities, the partnership aims to lead to sponsored funding, private sector partnerships, workforce development and training, and service to the State of Illinois and beyond. Two collaborative research proposals have been selected. Using an innovative drone-mounted microwave radiofrequency system, researchers in one project can sense soil and crop moisture, monitoring plant stress and catching it early — before typical signs of water stress are visible. A scalable solution, the technology could improve production and irrigation. The second proposal aims to develop a more efficient and cost-effective method to monitor western corn rootworm, which is currently a manual process using insect traps.   

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