AgNet News Hour Monday, 05-05-25

The Ag-Net News Hour Hosts, Lorrie Boyer and Nick Papagni, “The Ag Meter,” discuss a recent federal court ruling in California that prohibits Border Patrol from conducting warrantless immigration stops, following an ACLU lawsuit over a Border Patrol sweep in Kern County. The ruling requires agents to have reasonable suspicion and probable cause. The hosts debate the implications, with one suggesting the judge's bias influenced the headlines. They also touched on the influence of social media, mentioning Nick’s daughters, Lex and Tessa, who are social media influencers. The idea of having them discuss building an audience for agricultural businesses to use for education and ag promotion was proposed to enhance ag communication.

 

The Ag-Net News Hour hosts discuss the USA's new lawfare complaint portal for farmers and ranchers, highlighting the case of Charles and Heather Maude in South Dakota. The Maude's faced federal charges for putting up a fence on federal land, which was later dropped by the Trump administration. The portal aims to address politically motivated lawfare under the Biden administration. Additionally, Brooke Rollins announced a second round of $1.3 billion in payments for specialty crop producers through the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops Program. The segment also touched on the quality of California strawberries and recognized Homegrown Organic Farms for their Whole Foods Market partnership.

 

In the last segment, Nick and Lorrie went over information regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's Final Insecticide Strategy (.pdf), which aims to protect over 900 endangered species while providing flexibility for pesticide users. The strategy, which follows an herbicide strategy already in regulation, received positive feedback from farming groups. The conversation also covered the Strengthening Local Processing Act (.pdf), which supports small meat and poultry processors by providing access to information, inspector-approved products, and training grants. Additionally, the segment highlights the challenges faced by small farmers, particularly in California.