It has been a couple of months since the Trump Administration began shutting down USAID. As the industry works to adjust, the Washington Grain Commission says it is hoping to see the program get back to its roots.
“There’s been a push for a while to increase this transparency and accountability, and what they say is ‘put the food back in food aid’. There’s been quite a shift in the last five or ten years, even, to cash payments overseas or purchasing commodities overseas, often from our competitors. So, we would like to see a return to the original intent of the program,” said Casey Chumrau.
She is hoping the program can be reworked, saying farmers in the Pacific Northwest rely on that business.
“It is a significant part of the PNW’s export plan, I would say at this point. Food aid is, if you would count it as a country, a top ten market for soft white in the last decade. And so that wheat is purchased commercially like any other bushel of wheat and does support our farmers and then, obviously, helps battle hunger across the world as well.”
USAID’s most recent budget was around $40 billion. It began in the 1960s under President Kennedy, and averaged about $2 billion a year in small grains purchases.
Sen. Roger Marshall discusses the Senate’s unanimous passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and what expanded milk options could mean for students and dairy farmers. Industry groups say it is a win for student nutrition and dairy producers.
November 21, 2025 01:19 PM
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Supplemental Disaster Relief Program Stage Two will disburse around $16 billion, approved by Congress last year. Sign-ups begin Monday, and producers have until April to return applications.
November 21, 2025 11:48 AM
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Removing the 40% duty sharply lowers U.S. beef import costs on beef, coffee, fertilizer and fruit, and restores Brazil’s competitiveness during a period of tight domestic supply.
November 21, 2025 10:30 AM
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Row crop losses in 2025 are outpacing last year. With no disaster aid yet approved, many operations face a tough financial bridge to 2026 even as Farm Bill improvements remain a year away.
November 20, 2025 05:00 PM
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Experts say farmers and ethanol producers would benefit from a risk-based ILUC system that protects forests without relying on speculative modeling.
November 20, 2025 04:24 PM
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The White House is now preparing to restore an Endangered Species Act (ESA) rule from the first Trump Administration.
November 20, 2025 11:46 AM
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