farm preservation

Lawmakers also continued funding for a farmer suicide prevention hotline.

Farmers continued to take on more debt through the first quarter of 2025, prolonging a trend from last year. That's as farm incomes have shrunk over the last couple of years, and some worry President Trump's tariffs could make economic conditions tougher.

The Conservation Reserve Program incentivizes farmers to take environmentally sensitive land out of production. Project 2025 says the Trump administration should champion its elimination.

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.

The U.S. trade war with China is coming at a tough time for American farmers, who are already dealing with lower crop prices and higher costs for farm necessities. Tariffs are likely to push crop prices further down, while increasing the costs for fertilizer and farm equipment.

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.

Certified Naturally Grown offers farmers a cheaper and less time-consuming option to communicate how they produce their food. But terms like “natural” on food labels can be confusing for consumers.

The United States denied Mexico’s request for a special delivery of Colorado River water on Thursday, citing Mexico’s ongoing failure to meet its obligations under an 80-year-old water-sharing treaty between the two countries.

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

Foreign investors owned about 46 million acres of U.S. farmland in 2023 — which is less than 4% of all American farmland, according to a recent report. The data comes as more states consider limiting foreign ownership of agricultural land.