The USDA announced a phased reopening of southern ports of entry to cattle trade starting Aug. 24, ending months of closure that had significant economic consequences for border-state ranchers and the broader cattle industry. The department made the announcement July 24. The reopening is contingent on Mexico’s continued compliance with

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Homeland Security on Aug. 11, establishing a whole-of-government framework to protect America’s food and agricultural supply from biological threats at the southern border. The agreement formalizes coordination between USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and DHS

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert on Aug. 8 for various meat and poultry products containing jalapeño peppers linked to a Salmonella contamination event. The alert is connected to a separate FDA recall of Taylor Fresh Foods products. The alert covers meat and poultry

City Foods Inc. of Chicago recalled 3,215 pounds of ready-to-eat pastrami and corned beef products on Aug. 8 due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced. FSIS classified the action as a Class I recall — the highest-risk category, indicating a reasonable probability that

The USDA Farm Service Agency designated 57 Kentucky counties and six Texas counties as natural disaster areas on Aug. 10, unlocking federal emergency loan programs for farmers who suffered weather-related losses. The Kentucky designations also make two Indiana counties eligible for emergency loan access as contiguous counties, while the Texas

The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization on Aug. 7 for a drug to protect sheep, cattle, goats, and swine from New World Screwworm infestation, as the flesh-eating parasitic fly threatens to re-enter the United States from Mexico after a six-decade absence. The authorization expands on an earlier emergency authorization

The USDA announced Aug. 10 it is extending the application deadline for Stages 1 and 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program to Sept. 30, giving grain farmers additional time to file claims for quality losses from the 2023 and 2024 crop years. The extension includes new flexibilities for producers

The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for a drug to prevent New World Screwworm infestation in sheep, cattle, goats and swine, expanding a July authorization that had covered only horses, on Aug. 7. The authorization is part of the ongoing USDA-APHIS response to a New World Screwworm outbreak that

The USDA opened applications for the $500 million Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers program, which provides temporary financial support to eligible independent and regional beef processing establishments, on Aug. 7. Applications will be emailed to eligible establishments starting the following week, the Farm Service Agency said. The program targets smaller

City Foods, Inc., a Chicago-area meat processor, is recalling approximately 3,215 pounds of ready-to-eat pastrami and corned beef products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Aug. 8. The recall, designated 015-2026 and classified as Class I, indicates a reasonable probability of