family farming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled a couple of programs providing tribal governments, states, schools and food banks money to buy locally produced food. Some farmers involved in the projects are looking to pivot their operations.

The spring planting season is getting started for many Midwest farmers. Federal data suggests that fewer acres will be planted in soybeans than last year, in part because of the U.S. trade war with China.

Thousands of Oklahomans got payments from a Biden-era program to help address generations of farm lending discrimination. Now, the Trump Administration wants to end programs that could be labeled as DEI. Some Oklahoma programs have already seen funding freezes.

The department announced enrollment for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program opened this week.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said earlier this month that economic aid payments Congress approved late last year are on the way. But with days left before the deadline, some farmers are anxiously waiting.

The Trump administration’s tariff announcements this week are bringing uncertainty to farmers going into planting season. Farm groups warn that retaliatory tariffs will add an additional “burden” to U.S. producers.

Federal agriculture workers in Oklahoma were among the thousands of federal workers fired as part of the Trump Administration's Administration efforts to downsize. Agricultural leaders are concerned about what this means for program delivery for farmers and ranchers.

A federal freeze on certain USDA programs has held up billions of dollars for conservation and caused layoffs at a nonprofit in Iowa that supports soil and water quality.

Farmers are increasingly relying on off-farm jobs to supplement their farm income. Today about 84% of farm families rely on another part-time or even full-time job to stay in business.

The state's Farm to School initiative pairs Kansas family farms with school districts who want to buy food for student meals. But pandemic-related uncertainty about the coming school year makes it harder to form those connections.