January 08, 2026

USDA Releases New Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030, marking what the agencies call a significant reset of federal nutrition policy. They said the new Guidelines deliver a clear, common-sense message to the American people: eat real food. The Guidelines emphasize simple, flexible guidance rooted in modern nutritional science, including prioritizing protein at every meal. They also recommend Americans consume full-fat dairy with no added sugars, eat vegetables and fruits throughout the day, focusing on whole forms, and incorporate healthy fats from whole foods like meats, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados. They also recommend focusing on whole grains, sharply reducing refined carbohydrates, and limiting highly-processed foods. “These Guidelines return us to the basics,” said HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. “American households must prioritize whole, nutrient-dense foods – protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains – and dramatically reduce highly-processed foods.” 

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Pesticide Residues 99 Percent Below the Limit

The USDA published the 2024 Pesticide Data Program Annual Summary, which showed more than 99 percent of the samples tested had pesticide residues below benchmark levels established by the EPA. Every year, USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency work together to identify foods to be tested on a rotating basis by the PDP. In 2024, tests were conducted on over 9,800 samples from 19 commodities of fresh and processed fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fish. The USDA tests a wide variety of domestic and imported foods, with a strong focus on foods that are consumed by infants and children. The data also provides regulators, farmers, processors, manufacturers, consumers, and scientists with important insights into the actual levels of pesticide residues found in widely consumed foods. The FDA and EPA would be immediately notified if a PDP test discovers residue levels that could pose a public safety concern.

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U.S. Ethanol Blend Rate Continues Climbing

The total demand for U.S. ethanol has grown steadily since 2016. The blend rate, ethanol’s percentage of finished motor gasoline volume, is one indicator of gasoline blenders’ demand for ethanol in vehicle fuel. March 2025 data showed the U.S. average blend rate was 10.1 percent, the ninth-consecutive month above the implied minimum federal blend rate of ten percent. The 12-month moving average blend rate stood at 10.2 percent. The average blend rate has largely been at ten percent or higher since 2020. Increasing blend rates have helped maintain domestic ethanol consumption at a steady level despite reduced demand for finished motor gasoline. Since 2023, international demand for ethanol has steadily risen and provided additional support for U.S. ethanol fuel production. Elevated blend rates and rising ethanol exports both support growing demand for corn. To meet the March 2025 demand for fuel ethanol required about 465 million bushels of corn, a 60 million bushel increase over the monthly demand from ten years ago.

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Final Call for Action on Lamb Import Investigation

The American Sheep Industry Association has officially asked the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office to investigate the impact of lamb imports on American producers. The American sheep industry faces increasing pressure from imported lamb, which threatens the stability and future of domestic producers. ASI members have made it clear that immediate action is critical to restore fair competition and protect America’s sheep producers. To address this, ASI is working diligently to secure a Section 201 trade case investigation, a vital step toward leveling the playing field for U.S. producers. ASI is asking for producers to contact elected officials and their trade staff, urging them to sign the “Dear Colleague” letter to support the Section 201 investigation into imported lamb. Signatures must be received by this Friday, January 9. For more information on how to get involved, go to sheepusa.org. 

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China Buys Ten Million Tons of U.S. Soybeans

Sinograin (SY-no-grain), China’s state-run commodity buyer, recently bought ten U.S. soybean cargoes. Three traders told Reuters that the world’s biggest buyer of soybeans is continuing to purchase the commodity from the United States following a late October trade truce. ‘The cargoes total almost 600,000 metric tons and will be shipped between March and May,” Reuters said. “That timeframe happens to also be the peak season for Brazil, a rival supplier of the U.S.” The total amount of soybeans China has bought from the U.S. is estimated between 8.5 million and almost ten million tons. That number represents almost 80 percent of the 12 million metric tons that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China had promised to purchase by February 28. In late November, Reuters cited a shipping schedule saying two cargoes would carry the first soybean shipments since May. However, those cargoes haven’t arrived yet as they aren’t on the customs website. 

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2025-2026 Rice Export Forecast Lowered to 92 Million

Both U.S. import and export forecasts for 2025-2026 rice were lowered in December. Imports were lowered by one million hundredweight to 49.7 million, with long-grain rice accounting for all the downward revision. Despite the reduction, both all-rice and long-grain imports remain forecast to be a record-high. Total U.S. rice production in 2025-2026 remains projected at 207.3 million hundredweight, down almost seven percent from the prior year. The lower import forecast reduced the U.S. total supply forecast to one million hundredweight, just 0.4 million hundredweight below the year-earlier record high. Total U.S. rice exports in 2025-2026 are reduced by two million hundredweight to 92 million, but still 1.6 percent above last year. For 2025-2026, the U.S. season-average farm price forecasts were lowered for both classes of rice, resulting in a $1.10 per hundredweight reduction in the all-rice price to $11.60 per hundredweight, 24 percent below the prior year. 

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