June 17, 2025                                                                              

ICE Ordered to Pause Immigration Raids on Ag Businesses

President Trump’s administration directed immigration officials to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, restaurants, and meatpacking plants. Reuters said that information came from an internal email, a senior Trump official, and a person familiar with the matter. The order to scale back on immigration raids came from President Trump himself. It appears to slow down a late-May demand from White House aide Stephen Miller for more aggressive immigration raids. The source told Reuters that the President wasn’t aware of the extra enforcement push, and once it hit him, he pulled it back. The President posted on his Truth Social site that he disapproved of how farmers and hotels were being affected. The United Farm Workers union said last week that it was skeptical the new directive would help workers without legal status. The New York Times reported the turnaround in deportations of farmworkers came after Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins raised concerns. 

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Greater Market Access in Overseas Markets

U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that American agricultural producers will have greater market access to Thailand and Vietnam and maintain access to Brazil. Actions by the administration included maintaining consistent access to Brazilian markets for U.S. dairy producers. Citrus and apple growers will be able to sell more products to Thailand, and stone fruit growers will face lower non-tariff barriers in Vietnam as a result of actions taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “American farmers and ranchers grow the safest and most abundant food supply in the world,” said USDA Secretary Rollins. “Expanded access to Brazil, Thailand, and Vietnam will result in millions in added trade for the U.S.” USDA also says these trade victories follow four years of inaction by the Biden administration, which caused the agricultural trade balance to go from a trade surplus under President Trump to an almost $50 billion trade deficit under President Biden. 

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Groups Continue to Applaud EPA’s Proposed RVOs

Groups like the National Sorghum Producers voiced support for the EPA’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirements for 2026 and 2027. “Sorghum continues to gain traction as a dependable, low-input advanced biofuel feedstock, and this rule lays out important groundwork to expand our role in current and future biofuels markets,” said NSP CEO Tim Lutz. Clean Fuels Alliance America thanked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for releasing the overdue proposed rule. “Continued growth and market stability through the RFS will enable more economic opportunities, create more jobs, and revitalize America’s agricultural sector,” said CFA Vice President of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said, “The blending levels under the RFS advance the bipartisan efforts Senator Grassley and I have led to increase the blending of homegrown biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. As farmers continue to face headwinds of uncertain trade and tariffs, domestic biofuel production is a critical market for farmers.” 

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Meat Processors Want a Part in Ag Worker Solutions

The Meat Institute called today for the processing sector, a critical part of the meat and poultry supply chain, to be included in the Trump administration’s plans for a stable and legal agriculture workforce. “As reforms are considered, we urge the Trump administration to include meat and poultry packers and processors in the efforts to improve agriculture worker programs,” said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the Meat Institute. “More than 850,000 hog farmers, cattle ranchers, and poultry growers rely on meat packers to market their animals, and consumers rely on processors for the nutrient-dense meat and poultry they feed their families.” Meat and poultry processors keep the rural economy moving by producing the beef, pork, and poultry purchased by 98 percent of American households. “Our members need changes to the H-2A visa program and modernization of E-Verify to ensure the processing sector has a year-round workforce,” Potts added. 

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Nominations are Open for FSA County Committees

Nominations are being accepted from farmers and ranchers to serve on local USDA Farm Service Agency county committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2025 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by August 1, 2025. “Serving on an FSA county committee provides producers with a unique opportunity to have a say in local farm program decisions, ensuring FSA policies work, as intended, for producers at the country level,” said FSA Administrator Bill Beam. “Nominations are open, so here’s your chance to support USDA’s commitment to putting farmers first by amplifying the voices of farmers and ranchers in your community and effectively delivering the economic support they deserve.” Producers may be nominated for candidacy if they participate or cooperate in a USDA program or reside in the LAA that is up for election this year. 

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Public Land Ranchers Talk Wildfire Prevention

The Public Lands Council thanked President Donald Trump, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for the push to make the federal government’s wildfire prevention and response strategy more efficient. As wildfire season begins, America’s western ranchers need federal agencies to prioritize wildfire response to help protect rural communities. “Western communities have faced years of devastation from catastrophic wildfires, and we need every tool available to protect our nation’s scenic rangelands from burning,” said PLC President Tim Canterbury. “There is no single solution for protecting the West from catastrophic wildfires, but by using livestock grazing to reduce fine fuels, increasing active land management, and making the federal response more efficient, we can protect lives and livelihoods from suffering due to wildfire.” PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover added, “Secretaries Rollins and Burgum recognize the challenge that catastrophic wildfire poses in the west. We appreciate them protecting rural communities.”

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