Government Funding Tug-of-War Continues in Washington

Government Funding Tug-of-War Continues in Washington
The clock is ticking to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1. The House did its part last Friday by passing a patch that would fund the government through mid-November so that appropriators can continue long term funding negotiations, but the Senate failed twice on Monday to pass the Republican-led House version or a new Democrat-led Senate version. The Senate has been on a planned recess since Tuesday, which punts the next possible vote to Monday.

A lack of funding patch negotiations among House and Senate leadership and the White House certainly haven’t staved off the likelihood of a shutdown on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean everybody in Washington has been unwilling to work across the aisle on funding. Top appropriators in both chambers have been diligently negotiating during this week’s recess on the minibus of three 2026 funding bills, which includes Agriculture-FDA funding. While the exact outcomes are yet to be determined, one thing is for certain: all eyes will be on these leaders during their 48 hours back before the end of the month, and we will be closely monitoring the outcomes to ensure that business continues to run as usual for our farmers and their cooperatives.

USDA Names Ben Carson to Help Implement MAHA Agenda
On Wednesday, USDA announced that Dr. Ben Carson has been sworn in as the National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing. In this role, Carson will advise President Trump and Secretary Brooke Rollins on nutrition, rural health and housing accessibility policies. This includes serving on the Make America Health Again (MAHA) Commission and likely having a key role in the soon-to-be released Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Nutrition was also the topic of this week’s Dairy Defined podcast featuring social media personality Lauren Twigge. She advised anyone seeking a bigger online presence to just get out there and engage. “You’ve got so many great farmers online that are sharing their stories, showing days in their life, and I think that it really helps put a face to the industry, and that’s what consumers need to see,” she said. “My big piece of advice would be, start the content, post the content, share your story, talk about your family, talk about the industry, and talk about why you love it. Connect people with your passion. And that is content that people resonate with, and content that people resonate with is content that people remember and learn from.”