Farmer Sentiment Weakens, But Farmers Believe US Policy Headed in Right Direction

Farmer sentiment continues to weaken, as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer declined again in July. The barometer fell 11 points to 135 from June, a reading that resulted from U.S. farmers' weaker perceptions of both current conditions and future expectations. The July Current Conditions Index dropped 17 points to 127 from last month, while the Future Expectations Index posted a smaller decline of 7 points to 139. Driving the weaker income prospects for 2025 were farmers' assessment of current conditions...

US Republicans Continue Push to Override California Animal Welfare Law

U.S. Republicans continued on Wednesday a years-long effort to override a 2018 California law that bans the sale in the state of pork from pigs kept in tightly confined spaces, arguing in a House Agriculture Committee hearing that the law is overly burdensome to farmers.

Proposition 12, which also sets housing standards for veal and eggs sold in the state, was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023 after a legal challenge by the pork industry.

President Donald Trump's administration sued California...

Pork Producers Deeply Disappointed in Senate Democrats’ Failure to Address California Prop. 12 

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) issued the following statement after the unveiling of Senate Democrats’ 2024 Farm Bill text by U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

“Though America’s pork producers appreciate Chairwoman Stabenow’s efforts to publish Farm Bill text, this is simply not a viable bill, as it fails to provide a solution to California Prop. 12,” said NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minn. “Pork producers have...