Policy — Latest Stories

ICE Surge in Minnesota Hits Meatpacking Towns

Operation Metro Surge expanded beyond the Twin Cities metro and chilled economic activity in rural Minnesota meatpacking towns with large immigrant communities.

Wall Street Doesn’t Reward Resilience, Main Street Does

Minnesota shows how small businesses can support their communities through crisis while large corporations make measured statements, or worse, cooperate with authoritarian overreach.

Retail, PolicyClaire KellowayFebruary 5, 2026resiliency, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Small Business, Secondary Feature

Environmental Organizations Ask USDA to Stop Subsidizing Manure Digesters

Over 30 environmental organizations want USDA to stop subsidizing manure-to-biogas machinery that they argue entrenches large, polluting livestock operations, promotes farm consolidation, and wastes taxpayer dollars.

Dairy, Poultry & Livestock, PolicyClaire KellowayJanuary 22, 2026Biogas, Digesters, USDA, California, dairy, pork, climate change, Methane, Secondary Feature

Executive Order Directs Antitrust Agencies to Investigate Food Companies

Antitrust enforcement could bring down grocery prices, but will Trump’s FTC and DOJ deliver? The agencies have been weakened by firings.

PolicyClaire KellowayDecember 11, 2025Executive Order, Trump, FTC, DOJ, price fixing, Secondary Feature

Shutdown Hits Packers and Stockyards Division, USDA Cancels More Antimonopoly Projects

The shutdown is the latest blow to agriculture antimonopoly work, as the Trump administration cancels Biden-era projects promoting seed competition and state-level antitrust enforcement.

Pesticide Industry Campaigns to Avoid Cancer Liability

After paying billions to settle Roundup cancer suits, Bayer launched a multi-pronged lobbying campaign to turn its legal defense into law. An appropriations rider passed Tuesday is the tip of the iceberg.

Seeds & Agrichemicals, PolicyClaire KellowayJuly 24, 2025Bayer, lawsuit, Secondary Feature

Budget Bill Expands Subsidies for Largest Farms, Cuts SNAP

As Republicans added work requirements for SNAP, they also made it easier for non-active farm owners to collect more federal subsidies.

PolicyClaire KellowayJuly 11, 2025farm bill, subsidies, commodity, SNAP, Secondary Feature

MAHA Report’s Rhetoric Contradicts Administration’s Actions

The MAHA report says food and chemical corporations should be held accountable for making children sick but the actions of Congress and the Trump administration reveal different priorities.

Seeds & Agrichemicals, PolicyClaire KellowayMay 29, 2025MAHA, Chemicals, nutrition

USDA Cuts Funds for Local Food Purchasing

Schools and food banks expected $1 billion from USDA to buy local foods this year. The Trump administration pulled those contracts, hurting farmers, kids, and rural development.

How Gutting the CFPB Will Hurt Rural America

Rural Americans struggle with medical debt, banking deserts, and discriminatory farm lending - dismantling the CFPB leaves them more defenseless to financial exploitation.

PolicyClaire KellowayMarch 6, 2025CFPB, discrimination, Debt, Secondary Feature

Antitrust Action on the Way Out the Door, Biden Administration Finalizes Poultry Payment Rules and Sues John Deere and Pepsi

In the final days of the Biden administration, antitrust enforcers filed several lawsuits and finalized rules to help farmers and independent retailers.

The Monopolies Behind Your Thanksgiving Dinner

One company sells 80% of all canned pumpkin, one cooperative sells 70% of all cranberry sauce, and two companies sell 60% of all carrots. That’s not great for fair prices or resiliency.