The Aggregate Aggregation
Agroecology in the News (Volume 1, Week of February 2, 2025)
Each week (more or less), the editors at The Aggregate will publish a roundup, or an aggregation, if you’ll forgive us, of recent headlines and articles that resonate with us. We’ll aim to provide commentary on at least one subject in our “Digging Deep” section, and share everything else we’re reading in our “Surface Level” section.
In this issue, Digging Deep reflects on the third week of the new Trump Administration and what that might mean for sustainable agriculture efforts in the near future. Surface Level explores bird flu, 2025 policy priorities, and a few other topics that caught our eyes.
Let’s make it a conversation! Please share your reflections - we’d love to continue the discussion in the comments.
Digging Deep
The biggest news this week comes as no surprise - we’re in the third week of a new presidential administration and the headlines have, of course, been dominated by all the coverage the White House can get before the public mood shifts elsewhere. And so it goes for modern presidents writ large, who leverage their first few weeks in office to make a statement about their priorities and strength and undertake a flurry of executive orders if only to undo the flurry of executive orders signed by the preceding president. But this week has had an air of NON-business-as-usual about it. It’s been a chaotic start to this presidency in many ways that could have serious ramifications for agriculture in the United States, especially the kind of systems-oriented, sustainable agriculture that agroecologists would like to see.
In its final days, the Biden Administration finalized actions intended to make America’s agriculture and food system healthier for consumers and fairer for farmers: the USDA updated Packers & Stockyards rules to provide more transparency for farmers raising livestock and poultry on behalf of large meat corporations; the EPA released a draft risk assessment analyzing the impact of PFAS-contaminated biosolid application to farmland; the FDA banned the use of Red No. 3 in foods following decades of research linking the dye to cancer in humans; and the FTC sued Deere & Co. (John Deere, etc.) for monopolizing the farm equipment repair market and driving costs up for farmers.
Perhaps we’ll look at the agroecological legacy of the Biden Administration, which is far from flawless, another time. The point here is that much of the work supported by agroecology advocates is now at risk of being undone or reversed, either by direct action or as a result of the chaos and uncertainty that now seems the hallmark of the new administration.
Here’s a peek at how this week has unfolded from the Trump White House:
Chaotic executive orders
The Trump Administration’s flood of executive orders have dominated the news cycle this week based on the sheer quantity, scope, and legal uncertainty. The Administration failed to maintain an executive order freezing all federal grant spending, but confusion abounds as the Administration digs into contracts that may in any way address “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or climate initiatives. Trump’s trust and investment in Executive offices like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raise concerns about the capacity for the United States to handle incoming threats like the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, bird flu) currently wreaking havoc on flocks, cattle, and now humans across the country (more on this below).
The Trump Administration may want to project an appearance of strength by claiming their word is law, but I am reminding myself that executive orders are not law. Constitutionally, Congress is responsible for determining how the government should serve the American people and how much money should be allocated where to do so. The presidency serves the people by administering, or executing (the Executive Branch!) these laws as passed by Congress. The courts ensure that laws passed by Congress don’t violate the Constitution, and that actions taken by the Executive violate neither law nor the Constitution. Hey, that’s how it’s supposed to work… it’s up to us to hold the system accountable.
Climate and regenerative agriculture
The USDA has been ordered to delete pages on climate change and Civil Eats reports that some pages have already been deleted. There is confusion about the future disbursement of Inflation Reduction Act funds, which includes billions of dollars in USDA grant funding allocated to farmers and rural communities for climate-smart practices and projects as reported by Civil Eats. In addition, the EPA, which Civil Eats writes “provides crucial data on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the impact of climate change on farms and the broader food system, and has been working on data and solutions to food waste, a major driver of emissions,” is threatening to fire employees working on climate change. Climate smart agriculture initiatives have been paused or thrown into chaos as grant recipients lack clarity about payments as Trump pushes to pause spending from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Tariffs (at least, the threat of tariffs)
Uncertainty arises as the Trump Administration threatens tariffs against the United States’ major trade partners, especially Canada and Mexico. Civil Eats reports that “Canada is the number one supplier of agricultural products to the U.S., including produce, grains, and meat. Mexico is the third largest supplier and accounts [for] more than 30 percent of horticultural products, including fruits and vegetables.” While tariffs against Canada and Mexico have been temporarily paused for 30 days, reinstituting these tariffs could result in increased food prices and potential payouts to farmers affected by tariffs (Trump Administration 1.0 paid affected farmers tens of billions in taxpayer dollars).
Leadership
Brooke Rollins, Trump’s pick to lead the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “would not admit that climate change is caused by human actions, according to Rollins’ written responses to senators’ questions sent to the Senate Ag Committee,” was “non-committal” on “undoing the Biden administration’s pro-competition regulations” (Packers & Stockyards), and supports “Make America Healthy Again” but only after considering agribusiness priorities as reported by Politico this week.
How would you like to see agroecology reflected in national policy, and how do you think sustainable agriculture systems may change or stay the same under the current presidential administration? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Surface Level
This week’s major headline trends included continuing coverage of the bird flu outbreak, the start of new legislative sessions across the country, and a few other topics of note.
🐓Bird flu continues to make headlines
Bird Flu Flares Up Again: An Infectious Disease Expert Weighs In (Morning Ag Clips). Bird flu was in ag headlines just about every day this week. This piece from January gives a good overview of the current state of affairs.
Second type of bird flu detected in US dairy cows (Associated Press). “The detection indicates that distinct forms of the virus known as Type A H5N1 have spilled over from wild birds into cattle at least twice.”
Waffle House is passing along the sky high cost of eggs to diners with a 50 cent surcharge (Associated Press). The headline says it all, as the price of eggs continues to be the yardstick against which the seriousness of this outbreak is measured.
Could the Bird Flu Become Airborne? (New York Times). “It took more than two years for the World Health Organization to officially acknowledge that Covid spread through the air. Now, five years after Dr. Morawska started sounding the alarm, scientists are paying more attention to how other diseases may also spread through the air. At the top of their list is the bird flu….If the bird flu gains the ability to spread from person to person, it could produce the next pandemic.”
Crescent duck farm to close following bird flu outbreak (News 12, Long Island). The last duck farm on Long Island will close after culling all 100,000 of its birds following a bird flu outbreak. More on the story from the New York Times.
💰New Year, New Budgets
As 2025 gets underway, various government agencies are assessing their annual budget priorities. Civil society groups are mobilizing to make their policy demands heard. The federal government must address their FY 2025 budget by March 14 (the deadline of the current Continuing Resolution) or risk a government shutdown, and the current farm bill still requires updating. Here’s just a sample of the 2025 policy agendas we’ve seen this week.
American Farmland Trust releases 2025 - 2026 New England legislative priorities (American Farmland Trust). Priorities include strengthening the economic viability of farms, increasing farmland access for farmers, advancing climate smart agriculture, protecting agricultural land from development pressures, increasing support for BIPOC farmers, promoting smart solar while protecting farmland, and supporting farmers impacted by PFAS contamination.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Sets Its Federal Policy Focus for 2025 (Morning Ag Clips). “NASDA’s members-led Board of Directors chose five issues to serve as the organization’s primary policy focus for 2025. They include the farm bill, food systems, pesticide regulations, PFAS and state cooperative agreement funding.”
Civil Eats releases Food Policy Tracker (Civil Eats). “Consider this your go-to source for actions taken by the President, federal agencies, and Congress that directly relate to or have significant implications for the food system.”
The U.S. Senate Committee on Food, Nutrition, and Forestry convened their first meeting on February 5. You can watch the recording or check out the Civil Eats recap.
🔄Everything else
Brooke Rollins sails through Senate ag committee (Politico) and is anticipated to be confirmed in a full Senate vote, to be held soon.
California Decides What ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ Means. Sort of. (Civil Eats). “In the past few years, label claims have proliferated, with climate-related terms such as “net-zero” or “climate-smart” beef drawing little scrutiny, and package claims like “pure” and “all-natural” energizing consumer class-action lawsuits. The new, loose definition might unleash more greenwashing, and consumer confusion.”
Impact of Agricultural Research Investments on Biodiversity, Land Use (Morning Ag Clips). A new study from Purdue shows how, at a local scale, agricultural research and development led to improved crop varieties that resulted in global benefits to the environment and food system sustainability.
Water Is the Other US-Mexico Border Crisis, and the Supply Crunch Is Getting Worse (Morning Ag Clips). “Growing water use is already overtaxing limited supplies from nearly all of the region’s cross-border rivers, streams and aquifers. Many of these sources are contaminated with agricultural pollutants, untreated waste and other substances, further reducing the usability of available water.”
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professors are uncovering the genetics behind choices farmers made 9,000 years ago (Morning Ag Clips). “In addition to expanding our understanding of evolution, these findings could help point the way to new strains of maize.”
Rye and Shine: Why Farmers Have Loved Winter Rye (Morning Ag Clips). “Read on to explore the history of farmers using winter rye grass as a cover crop, tracing its origins from ancient agricultural practices to its vital role in today’s sustainable farming movement.”
What did we miss? Drop a link to your favorite story of the week (or month, or year) in the comments. Tell us why it resonated with you!
What we’re reading
A list of sources the editors at The Aggregate check regularly for our agroecology+ news.