July 30, 2025
No More National Environmental Studies When Approving GE Seeds
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has announced it will no longer conduct a National Environmental Policy Act analysis when approving genetically engineered seeds as “unregulated articles” that can be freely sold on the interstate market. APHIS regulates genetically engineered organisms, and those regulations allow APHIS to grant unregulated status to a GE seed if the plant grown from the GE seed would not pose a greater pest risk than a similar organism. In the past, APHIS has also conducted NEPA reviews when granting unregulated article status to a GE seed to fully consider the expected environmental impacts of the decision. However, following a recent Supreme Court ruling in which the Court held that agencies are not required to conduct NEPA reviews of actions where they do not have the statutory discretion to consider environmental impacts. That means it could be easier to bring new GE seeds to market.
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Ag Groups Support New Trade Deals
A series of new trade deals between the United States and countries around the world will directly benefit America’s farmers and ranchers. Groups like the American Farm Bureau support the agreements, noting that strong and enduring agreements help connect U.S. farmers and ranchers with global markets. The U.S. Grains Council also applauded the trade deals, including the one between the U.S. and the EU. “This deal promises to build upon long-established trade with our eighth-largest grains-in-all-forms trading partner, worth more than $1 billion in the 20203-2024 marketing year and our fourth-largest ethanol trading partner,” said USGC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand. The Renewable Fuels Association said the deal comes at a good time as corn growers prepare for what will likely be a record harvest. “We stand ready to produce larger volumes of cleaner-burning ethanol and valuable co-products for our customers around the world,” said RFA President Geoff Cooper.
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USDA Gathering Conservation Data to Improve Programs
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is reaching out to farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners to gather in-depth information about the conservation practices they use. Nearly 23,000 operators nationwide will receive the 2025 Conservation Effects Assessment Project survey. It’s a multi-agency effort led by NRCS to quantify the effects of conservation practices across the nation’s working lands. “Responding to the survey allows farmers to provide the most accurate picture of conservation practices on their cropland,” said NASS Administrator Joseph Parsons. “The information gathered will help inform programs that benefit producers by protecting the natural resources on which their livelihoods depend.” Eligible farmers and landowners may be contacted between November 2025 and March 2026 and asked to participate in the survey. Typical questions will include current farm production practices; chemical, fertilizer, and manure applications; tillage; irrigation use; and currently installed conservation practices.
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Global Hunger Declines, but Rises in Africa and Asia
An estimated 8.2 percent of the global population, or about 673 million people, experienced hunger in 2024, down from 8.5 percent in 2023 and 8.7 percent in 2022. However, the United Nations “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” report says results weren’t consistent across the globe. Hunger continued to rise in most of Africa and Western Asia. The report estimates that between 638 and 720 million people faced hunger last year. Based on the minimum estimate of 673 million, this represents a decrease of 15 million people from 2023 and of 22 million in 2022. While the decline is welcome, the latest estimates are still above pre-COVID levels, with the high food inflation of recent years contributing to the slow recovery in food security. Notable improvements were seen in places like southern Asia and Latin America. Estimates say 512 million people could be chronically undernourished by 2030.
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Legislation Would Stop Mislabeling of Imitation Dairy Products
Four senators introduced the bipartisan “Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act,” or the Dairy Pride Act of 2025. The legislation’s goal is to crack down on the unfair practice of mislabeling non-dairy products by using dairy names. The practice, such as calling non-dairy imitation products “milk” or “yogurt” that do not contain dairy and are instead from a plant, nut, or grain, hurts dairy farmers who work tirelessly to ensure their products meet rigorous health standards and causes consumer confusion about the nutritional value of dairy versus imitation products. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, a state known as America’s Dairyland, is one of the co-sponsors. Baldwin says, “For far too long, imitation dairy products made from plants and nuts have ridden the coattails of our dairy farmers and gotten away with using dairy’s good name without meeting those standards.”
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Rural Mainstreet Index Expands in July
For the first time since July and August of 2023, the Rural Mainstreet Index, a survey of bankers in areas that rely on agriculture, registered two consecutive months of above growth-neutral readings. It’s the highest level for the RMI since July 2023. Bankers reported very low farm loan delinquency rates over the past six months. Unfortunately, one in four farmers is expected to experience negative income in 2025. For the 13th time in the past 14 months, farmland prices sank below growth neutral. Farm equipment sales dropped below growth neutral for the 22nd straight month. Regional exports of agricultural goods and livestock for the first four months of 2025, compared to the same period last year, fell from $4.5 billion in 2024 to $3.7 billion in 2025, for a decline of 18.5 percent. Mexico was the top destination for regional ag exports, accounting for 55.1 percent of total exports.
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