Washington | Reuters – The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its […] Read more

U.S. FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts

U.S. FDA suspends program to improve bird flu testing due to staff cuts
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is suspending efforts to improve its bird flu testing of milk, cheese and pet food due to massive staff cuts at the agency, according to an email seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the situation.

Trump administration is ‘months away’ from direct payments to farmers, Rollins says
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Fox News on Thursday that the administration is "months away" from making a decision about whether to make payments to farmers to offset any impact from tariffs.

Trump administration aims to make faster meat processing permanent
Agency plans rulemaking to formalize speed increases
Chicago/Washington | Reuters – The Trump administration said on Mar. 17 that it plans to permanently allow U.S. poultry and pork processing plants to operate more quickly, raising concerns among […] Read more

American farmers put plans, investments on hold under Trump USDA spending freeze
Farmers and food organizations across the country are cutting staff, halting investments and missing key funding amid a USDA freeze on a broad swath of grants, more than two dozen farmers and agricultural support groups in seven states told Reuters.

US will spend up to $1 billion to combat bird flu, USDA secretary says
The U.S. will invest up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu, including increasing imports of eggs, agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday.

How bird flu has sent US eggs prices skyrocketing
Eggs have reached almost $5 per dozen, or more than $7 Canadian, with some big cities seeing nearly double that price
The price of eggs at U.S. grocery stores has climbed to a record high, nearly doubling from a year ago, as outbreaks of bird flu have led to shortages by wiping out millions of hens.

USDA detects a second bird flu strain in dairy cattle, agency email says
Strain not seen in cows previously
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has detected a bird flu strain in dairy cattle that previously had not been seen in cows, according to an email from the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service seen by Reuters.

Trump pick to lead USDA eyes payments to farmers to cover trade losses from tariffs
Brooke Rollins, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday she would consider direct payments to farmers to offset losses from proposed tariffs, modeled after the approach taken in Trump’s first term.

Trump’s USDA secretary pick led group opposed to ethanol, farm subsidies
President Donald Trump's pick to run the Agriculture Department, Brooke Rollins, led an organization that opposed ethanol mandates and farm subsidies, major programs she could influence if confirmed, according to a Reuters review of the group's policy statements.