Department of Agriculture

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USDA Shifts Thousands of DC Jobs to 5 New Cities

Union leader says it looks like a ploy to reduce agency's workforce

(Newser) - The US Department of Agriculture is set to dramatically shift its footprint, moving the majority of its Washington, DC-based staff to five regional hubs: Salt Lake City; Fort Collins, Colorado; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; and Raleigh, North Carolina. The relocation, announced by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, will affect about 2,...

Trump: No Amnesty for Farm Laborers
Trump: No Amnesty
for Farm Laborers
Jul 9, 2025 12:30 AM CDT

Trump: No Amnesty for Farm Laborers

Ag secretary implies able-bodied Medicaid recipients can take over their jobs

(Newser) - In the latest twist and turn regarding the nation's agricultural workers, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in no uncertain terms Tuesday that "there will be no amnesty" for farm laborers who are in the US without documentation—a declaration President Trump himself later backed. "The mass deportations...

White House to Reverse Rule That Protects 59M Acres

'Roadless rule' blocked logging on national forest lands

(Newser) - The Trump administration plans to rescind a nearly quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging on national forest lands, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Monday. The "roadless rule" adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2001 has long chafed Republican lawmakers, especially in the West where...

Thousands of Chicks That Overwhelmed Shelter Adopted

It's still not clear how chicks were abandoned in USPS facility in Delaware

(Newser) - All of the estimated 5,000 chicks that overwhelmed a Delaware animal shelter after being found abandoned in a USPS mail truck have now been adopted. The chicks were part of a 12,000-bird shipment, most of which died after being left in the truck for reasons still unknown, the...

Administration Announces $1B Plan to Cut Egg Prices

One possibility is increasing imports, Brooke Rollins writes

(Newser) - President Trump's agriculture secretary announced Wednesday that her department is working with the Department of Government Efficiency "to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of wasteful spending" that will be used to help bring down the retail price of eggs. "We will repurpose some of those dollars...

Chickens, Prepare for Your Flu Shots

Zoetis receives conditional license from USDA for vaccines designed to combat avian influenza

(Newser) - As bird flu continues to wreak havoc across the US, killing millions of birds on poultry farms, sending eggs prices soaring , and even popping up in cows and humans , some good news for chickens: A vaccine against the infectious disease is on the horizon just for them. In a Friday...

Feds Giveth Accidental Pink Slips, Taketh Them Away

Chaos abounds as multiple federal agencies accidentally fire staffers amid DOGE cuts

(Newser) - Last week, the Energy Department had to scramble to rehire nuclear energy specialists for the National Nuclear Security Administration, after it mistakenly told hundreds of staffers at the agency they'd lost their jobs. That's not the only incident of head-count slashing gone awry throughout the government at the...

Problems at Boar's Head Plants Included 'Unidentified Slime'

Records show USDA inspectors found unsanitary conditions at several sites

(Newser) - Government inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar's Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down last year after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning, federal records show. Newly released reports from Boar's Head plants in New Castle, Indiana; Forrest City, Arkansas; and Petersburg,...

New Dietary Guidelines Could Be Big on Beans

Panel says American should cut down on red meat, eat more plant-based proteins

(Newser) - The next change to America's dietary guidelines could be big on beans. A report released this week from nutrition experts tasked with recommending updates suggests Americans should cut down on red meat and get more protein from beans, peas, and lentils. Those foods are currently classed as both vegetables...

Trump Makes Agriculture Pick
Trump Makes Agriculture Pick
Nov 23, 2024 4:25 PM CST

Trump Makes Agriculture Pick

Brooke Rollins has been running the America First Policy Institute

(Newser) - President-elect Trump again turned to his circle of advisers for a Cabinet choice, announcing Saturday that he will nominate Brooke Rollins to be agriculture secretary. The Texan is president of the America First Policy Institute, which was established to promote Trump's positions after his 2020 election defeat, the Texas...

Lunchables Are No Longer on the School Lunch Menu

Company pulls controversial product after lower than expected demand from districts

(Newser) - Kraft Heinz is pulling Lunchables from the school lunch program following a scathing review in Consumer Reports. Two of the packaged kits with deli meat, cheese, and crackers had previously been a part of the program, which provides free and discounted school meals to kids from low-income families, but no...

We May Soon See a Spike in Avocado Prices
A Big Avocado Supply to
the US Just Got Shut Down
in case you missed it
Jun 23, 2024 11:10 AM CDT

A Big Avocado Supply to the US Just Got Shut Down

Imports of avocados, mangos from Michoacan, Mexico, halted after 'incident' with USDA inspectors

(Newser) - The US Department of Agriculture has indefinitely put the kibosh on inspections of avocados and mangos imported from Mexico, citing "security concerns" for USDA staff. Inspections of those food items "will remain paused until the security situation is reviewed and protocols and safeguards are in place," the...

These 'Fun' Chicken Nuggets May Have Metal in Them

Tyson Foods recalls nearly 30K pounds

(Newser) - Tyson Foods is recalling nearly 30,000 pounds of breaded chicken "Fun Nuggets'' after consumers complained of finding metal pieces in the dinosaur-shaped patties, the AP reports. The nuggets, sold in 29-ounce bags, were produced on Sept. 5 by the Berryville, Arkansas, company. Tyson informed the US Department...

Government Agents Killed 200 Animals an Hour in 2021

Critic slams USDA's Wildlife Services as 'taxpayer-funded wildlife slaughter'

(Newser) - A government agency killed more than 1.75 million animals across the country in 2021, in what it claims were necessary actions. New data shows the Wildlife Services branch of the US Department of Agriculture, which acts to "resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist,"...

Feds: Trade Aid From Trump Overpaid Corn Farmers by $3B

Farmers in the South were paid more per acre than those in the West, Northeast

(Newser) - The Trump administration overpaid corn farmers by about $3 billion in federal aid in 2019 and farmers in the South were paid more for the same crops than those elsewhere in the country, a federal watchdog agency has found. The Government Accountability Office said in a report released Monday that...

Critics Rip USDA's 'Inhumane' Killing of Wolf Pups in Idaho

Students tracking the pups, conservation groups blast culling, while agency defends it

(Newser) - For students at Idaho's Timberline High School, a wolf pack roaming nearby in Boise National Forest offered the opportunity to study the animals, and so they've tracked the group since 2003. This spring, though, a shocking find was made: eight pups in the pack were killed by none...

Feds Are Changing 'Product of USA' Meat Rules

That 'product of USA' often isn't, it turns out

(Newser) - It's something White House press secretary Jen Psaki learned "that I found a little outrageous," she says: Most grass-feed beef bearing the label "product of USA" is no such thing. Rather, it's raised and slaughtered abroad and then brought to the US for processing, and...

A Former Ag Secretary Got Good at Ducking Food

Dan Glickman, who served under Clinton, lays claim to being 'most assaulted Cabinet member'

(Newser) - If you had to name the "most assaulted Cabinet member in history," the name Dan Glickman probably wouldn't be at the top of the list. But in an excerpt of his new memoir in Politico Magazine , Glickman lays claim to that unwanted title. He served as agriculture...

Senate Confirms 2 Biden Nominees
Senate Confirms
2 Biden Nominees
Feb 23, 2021 6:27 PM CST

Senate Confirms 2 Biden Nominees

Tom Vilsack is returning to Department of Agriculture

(Newser) - President Biden's Cabinet is starting to fill out, with nominees for agriculture secretary and United Nations ambassador gaining Senate approval Tuesday. The Senate voted 78-20 to approve career diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador, a Cabinet-level position. A 35-year foreign service veteran who resigned during the Trump administration, Thomas-Greenfield...

Recall Affects 750K Pounds of Hot Pockets

Certain batches could contain glass or hard plastic, Nestle says

(Newser) - More than 750,000 pounds of Hot Pockets are being recalled because of the possibility they contain "pieces of glass and hard plastic." The recall of the Nestle product was announced by the Department of Agriculture . The frozen food could "pose a choking or laceration risk and...

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