Some major spending will be coming out of Washington which is headed for rural America.
The Department will be spending $266 million through loans and grants intended to help producers and small rural businesses invest in renewable energy. The hope is to lower energy costs and generate new income. While speaking to a group at the Farm Progress Show, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said finding new income and opportunities is key to keeping residents in rural America.
“Now all of a sudden kids are staying in that school and its expanded. Those shops aren’t boarded up, they’ve got customers. That hospital can stay open so you don’t have to travel hundreds of miles to get health care. Now all of a sudden, you also have a population in rural communities, and this is the most important thing I’m going to say, that supports this country in this way: 15% of this nation’s population lives in rural America; 30% of military comes from rural America. If you have fewer kids, you have fewer people available for the military. So this isn’t just about agriculture. It’s about the fate of small towns and rural America.”
USDA will be making these grants and loans available in nearly all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) builds on the USDA’s Grazing Action Plan and is designed to improve coordination, streamline permitting, and strengthen partnerships with ranchers who rely on public lands.
April 01, 2026 10:41 AM
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Corn and sorghum exports remain strong; soybean demand lags.
April 01, 2026 10:23 AM
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Secretary Rollins is signaling a possible reopening of the southern border to Mexican feeder cattle as officials work to manage the threat of the New World Screwworm.
March 31, 2026 03:27 PM
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Building on the USDA’s recently released Grazing Action Plan, the agreement formalizes collaboration between the USDA, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management to ensure more efficient, transparent, and responsive grazing management across federal lands.
USDA’s Quarterly Grain Stocks report shows increased supplies across all major commodities, with corn, soybeans, and wheat stocks all rising compared to a year ago. Lewis Williamson with HTS Commodities discusses producer and market sentiment ahead of the key report.
March 31, 2026 12:17 PM
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Tony St. James and StoneX’s Arlan Suderman provide real-time insight on the USDA’s annual Prospective Plantings report, which shows a shifting acreage across commodities, with farmers planning to cut back on corn and wheat while increasing soybean and cotton acres.
March 31, 2026 12:15 PM
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