September 11, 2025
MAHA Report 2.0 Gets A Thumbs Up from Farmer Groups and Industry
The Department of Health and Human Services released its action strategy to address children’s health from its Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission on Tuesday. This is the second installment of the MAHA report – a highly anticipated follow-up to the report released by the Commission in May. Many farm organizations had said the original document was filled with “fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides. The latest report offers more than 120 initiatives that will serve as a road map to help address and resolve what Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described as “America’s escalating health crisis, with a focus on childhood chronic diseases.” Among the initiatives, the second report is calling for better nutrition, more physical activity and the need to address environmental health factors to improve children’s health. The report recommends collaboration with the agriculture industry to identify “precision agricultural techniques” that can help farmers reduce their use of crop-protection products.
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U.S.-India Agree to Talk on Trade Again
President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have pledged to talk and resume trade negotiations, signaling a possible thaw after weeks of a fight over tariffs and Russian oil purchases. “I am pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the trade barriers between our two nations,” Trump wrote on social media Tuesday. “I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our great countries!”, Trump posted. Modi responded shortly after with a post on X, saying that he was looking forward to speaking with Trump and that the U.S. and India are “close friends and natural partners.”
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What Farm Equipment Manufacturers Are Saying About 50% Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
Farm Equipment manufacturers say they are struggling under the high tariffs set by President Trump. Case IH’s Kurt Coffey, who serves as the company’s vice president of its North America division, says the executive team he is on meets daily to unpack global trade developments. Case IH is in a good position overall, he says, with 80% to 90% of its machines produced in one of four U.S. production facilities, and 95% of its machinery base material (i.e. steel) sourced domestically. We’ve continued to focus on how we make sure our customers have what they need as they’re going to harvest. German-based manufacturer Claas is a different story. Eighty percent of its row crop machinery portfolio is built in Europe and shipped to dealer lots in the U.S. Eric Raby, senior vice president of Claas, says, “We’ve absorbed a lot, as well. We’re not passing all of it to the customer.”
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South Dakota at ‘Leading Edge’ of Bird Flu Season
South Dakota is at the epicenter of this fall’s bird flu season with a total of 134,900 turkeys at three facilities already killed to contain the spread, and reports coming in about thousands more. The only other state reporting confirmed infections in commercial flocks during the last 30 days is North Dakota, where 60,300 turkeys have been killed in response, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Detections this early in the season are troubling, according to Beth Thompson, South Dakota’s state veterinarian. The peak avian influenza seasons typically coincide with the fall and spring migration of wild birds, which can carry the virus without becoming sick. The spread of bird flu before those migrations begin is concerning.
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$500 Million Soybean Processing Plant Opens in Mitchell, SD
As China boycotts U.S. soybean purchases, a $500 million processing plant south of Mitchell, South Dakota that will turn more of the state’s crop into oils and livestock meal opened its doors Tuesday. Tom Kersting, the CEO of South Dakota Soybean Processors, which manages the plant, said it will help stabilize prices and create local demand. “If it wasn’t for demand sources like this facility, it’d be very, very tough out there,” Kersting said, calling China, until now, the No. 1 buyer of South Dakota’s exported soybeans. China is avoiding U.S. soybeans this fall in response to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The High Plains Processing Plant is designed to crush about 35 million bushels of soybeans per year. South Dakota farmers produced about 238 million bushels last year. The facility will help create local markets for crops as the China market dries up amid tariff tensions.
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Demand for Fresh Herbs is Picking Up
The demand for fresh herbs is about to start picking up. Philipp Harlov, VP sales and marketing for Infinite Herbs, says, “Summer production slows down because a lot of our customer base–we do a good amount of foodservice, such as schools and other educational institutions–they shut down in the summer. People are also growing in home gardens or shopping at farmer’s markets.” Fresh herb demand starts to pick back up around the middle to late September when everyone is back in school and farmer’s markets and gardens are winding down. Then, the holiday season increases demand again in early November. As for pricing, it continues to be steady–pricing on fresh herbs generally stays steady. “Now that the tariffs are in place, we’re tightening things internally and looking for cost savings, with the hope that we will not need to pass any of this on to our clients,” Harlov says.
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