June 20th, 2025                                                                        

ICE Reverses Ag Exemption from Immigration Raids

The Department of Homeland Security told staff on Monday it would be reversing guidance issued last week that agents weren’t to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants. The Washington Post said the immigration pullback is directly at odds with President Donald Trump’s calls for mass deportations of anyone illegally in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told agency staff on a call that they must continue conducting immigration raids on farms and other agricultural businesses along with hotels and restaurants. Two people familiar with the agency call said the new instructions were given to staff from as many as 30 field offices across the country. The LA Times said, “As the vital harvest season gets going in California’s vast agricultural regions, farmers and their workers are getting whiplash from the series of contradictory signals about how the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration may or may not affect them. 

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Groups Applaud Supreme Court Decision on Small Refinery Exemptions

The Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy reacted positively after the Supreme Court issued its opinion that the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is the proper venue for challenging Small Refinery Exemption decisions. “This is a victory for the American biofuels industry and for the rural communities that depend on a strong Renewable Fuels Standard,” the groups said. “The Court agreed with our argument that the D.C. Circuit court is the only appropriate venue for litigation on EPA’s small refinery exemption decisions.” The groups also said because the Renewable Fuel Standard is a national program and SREs have nationwide impacts, any challenges to SRE decisions belong squarely in the D.C. Circuit. Allowing 12 different Circuit Courts to adjudicate SREs would result in a fractured and inconsistent body of law, causing chaos and confusion in the marketplace. “This gives farmers and ethanol producers greater certainty about SRE litigation,” the groups added. 

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NAFB Partners with Feeding America to Help End Rural Hunger

While food insecurity affects 47 million people in America, it has a disproportionate impact in rural areas of the country. To bring attention to the crisis and with the goal of providing one million meals for hungry people, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting introduced the NAFB Hunger Campaign(Link is external). NAFB Hunger is designed to help provide food and resources for people facing hunger, including those in rural communities, by directing donors to the Feeding America® network of partner food banks. NAFB stations and network broadcast members are reaching rural audiences through public service announcements and other communications to drive donors to a dedicated website: nafbhunger.com(Link is external). “Through the power and reach of farm broadcasters and others in the NAFB Community, we’re striving to make a difference in the communities we serve,” said NAFB President Jeff Nalley. “Rural America experiences a disproportionately higher rate of food insecurity compared to urban and suburban areas.”

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Sustainable Farming Continues Surging

The Fertilizer Institute announced that almost 65 million acres of U.S. farmland are being actively managed using the 4R Nutrient Stewardship practices. “Industry leaders set a goal in 2021 to have 70 million acres of cropland under 4R management by 2030,” said TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “We are well on the way to achieving that goal and being good stewards of our shared resources area, a priority for both the fertilizer industry and farmers across the country.” A 4R acre is defined as an acre of U.S. cropland under management using 4R practices, which stands for the right fertilizer source at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place. These practices include crediting organic sources and removal rates, variable rate technology, and split applications, among other practices. For more information on 4R Nutrient Stewardship, including farmer profitability case studies, go to the 4R Advocate webpage(Link is external). 

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USDA Plan to Combat New World Screwworm

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins launched an $8.5 million sterile New World screwworm fly dispersal facility in south Texas and announced a five-part plan to enhance USDA’s ability to detect, control, and eliminate the pest. These urgent actions are necessary to finish the fight against NWS and protect the nation’s livestock. While the screwworm has been eradicated from the U.S. for decades, recent detections in Mexico as close as 700 miles from the U.S. border led to the immediate suspension of live cattle, horses, and bison imports through U.S. ports of entry along the southern U.S. border on May 11. “The U.S. has defeated NWS before and will do it again,” Rollins said during a facility groundbreaking ceremony. “We don’t take the threat NWS poses to our livestock industry, our economy, and food supply chain lightly.” The five-part plan includes partnering with Mexico to ensure eradication and protect the southern border. 

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Improving the Reliability of Freight Rail Service

Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) reintroduced the “Reliable Rail Service Act” to help address the unreliable service and high costs of rail shipping for farmers and manufacturers. The legislation would strengthen the U.S. rail supply chain and ensure the largest freight railroads provide American businesses reliable services at reasonable rates so products can get to market more efficiently, and costs are lower for families. “Our farmers, small businesses, and manufacturers rely on rail service to get their products to market and make ends meet,” said Senator Baldwin. When rail service is unreliable, she says, it puts livelihoods on the line, disrupts supply chains, and drives up costs for hardworking families. “Our farmers depend on reliable transport of their world-class products to the rest of the country, and Class 1 railroads are not meeting expectations,” said Marshall. “This bill contains reasonable requirements for rail carriers to meet their obligations.”  

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