Farm Raw Product Wholesalers NAICS 4245

Mar 23, 2025 - Food for Peace Program Halted

• As part of its dismantling of USAID, the Trump administration halted the Food for Peace program, which provided a market for US crops and helped to feed 4 billion people worldwide since its inception in the 1950s, The Wichita Eagle reports. However, the closure of the US Agency for International Development is facing pushback from farm state Republicans. To safeguard the program and billions of dollars in wheat, rice, and other farm product sales, two Kansas Republicans are pushing legislation to move it to the US Department of Agriculture. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said food aid had proven its value in fostering political stability abroad, bolstering US national security and providing markets for US crops, adding “By moving this program closer to the producers who grow these crops, we can help reduce waste and make certain our farmers have access to this valuable market.”
• US agricultural exports in fiscal year 2025 (ending Sept 30) are projected at $170.5 billion, up $500 million from the November forecast, as higher grain and feed exports offset reductions to the oilseed outlook, according to the USDA’s latest Outlook for US Agricultural Trade: February 2025. Grain and feed exports are projected at $37.7 billion, up $1.2 billion from November, led by higher corn exports. Along with higher feed and fodder exports, these increases more than offset moderately lower wheat, sorghum, and rice exports. Mexico is forecast to remain the largest market for US agricultural exports at a record $30.2 billion, up $300-million from the previous forecast on strong sales of dairy, wheat, and other products during the first quarter. Exports to Canada are forecast to fall $800 million to $28.4 billion due to weaker-than-expected shipments to date. Exports to China are cut by $1.3 billion to $22 billion, largely due to reduced prospects for US soybeans, grains, and cotton.

• Falling crop prices and rising input costs are causing US farmers to cut back on spending, sending shocks throughout the US agriculture sector and leading The Wall Street Journal to announce in a December headline “America’s Farm Recession is Here". The downturn in the ag economy, which began in 2023 when net farm income tumbled 20% and again by about 4% in 2024, follows record setting farm income in 2022 fueled by soaring grain prices due to the pandemic and war in Ukraine, according to the USDA. Rising costs for seed, fertilizer, and equipment amid tumbling prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat due to bumper crops is weighing on farmers’ earnings, WSJ reports. By way of relief, congress included economic aid for farmers in December’s continuing resolution, which earmarks $10 billion in direct payments for farmers expected to go out in February or early March.
• Purchasers of farm raw products marketed as organic will need to verify products have proper organic certification as the USDA comes down hard on fraudulent claims, Farm Progress report. Since the implementation of the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule in March, the agency has uncovered several incidents of fraud in the organic marketplace, particularly involving imports, and is prosecuting offenders. “We are certainly finding product that has been sent to the United States that cannot be sold as organic in the United States, and we are stopping that,” said Jennifer Tucker, deputy administrator for the USDA’s National Organic Program. Moreover, the grace period where distributors and others along the supply chain were granted an extension to get certified, has expired. As such, farms, businesses, and other entities working in organic supply chains are now required to comply with the new SOE regulations.