The Daily Dirt — Morning Edition

Good morning from the Save US Farms Desk.

The stretch from Saturday evening to early Sunday morning brought a bipartisan push to rebuild regional food systems, a USDA leadership vacancy that has school-meal advocates quietly alarmed, a livestock parasite not seen on domestic soil since the Eisenhower era now confirmed in seven U.S. cattle operations, and an ocean stripped of monument protections. Here’s what to know going into Sunday.

The bill to save local food markets

On June 18, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in introducing the American Food Supply Chain Resiliency Act. The bill would invest in regional food infrastructure and strengthen local markets for small farms and food producers — explicitly targeting the damage done by USDA cuts to regional food business centers and local food programs. Whether it has legs in this Congress is an open question. But the bill signals that the political cost of those cuts is starting to register.

The USDA food and nutrition vacuum

The U.S. Department of Agriculture no longer has a deputy under secretary at the Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) as of June 17. The FNA oversees 16 federal food and nutrition programs. Advocates for school meals and SNAP have flagged the reorganization — which also relocates FNS employees — as a threat to experienced staff retention and program integrity heading into the fall enrollment cycle.

Screwworm update

As of June 11, seven cases of New World Screwworm had been confirmed in the U.S. — the first domestic detections since the 1960s. USDA APHIS is urging cattle producers to inspect all livestock regularly and report suspected infestations immediately. Senate Democrats have formally called for stronger USDA action and more outbreak transparency. Full analysis in today’s cattle country screwworm report.

Pacific monuments gone

The Trump administration eliminated protections for three Pacific Marine National Monuments — the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (established by President George W. Bush), the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, and Rose Atoll — opening more than 500,000 square miles of biodiverse ocean to commercial fishing.

This week in agribusiness

Farm Progress’s weekly roundup covered ARC and PLC base-acre enrollment decisions, the push to site data centers and solar farms on agricultural land, Proposition 12 pork rules, and biodiesel blend policy. All of it points to one thing: the competition over what happens to farm-adjacent land and federal subsidies is only getting tighter.

What to watch this week

Whether the New World Screwworm case count climbs above seven. Whether the American Food Supply Chain Resiliency Act gets traction in the Senate Agriculture Committee, which is drafting its version of the farm bill. And whether the USDA reorganization produces a new Food and Nutrition Administration leader before the agency’s fall program cycle kicks into gear.

— Save US Farms Desk