The United States Supreme Court by a vote of 6 to 3 has struck down President Trump’s tariffs, to the relief of most farmers who have experienced severe financial losses and rising costs of farm inputs. The new tariffs in 2025, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IIEPA)and labeled “reciprocal” by the Trump administration, blanketed nearly all trading partners with a 10 percent baseline, but China faced rates exceeding 100 percent. In response, Beijing escalated retaliatory duties on key agricultural imports. Almonds were hit with a 45 percent tariff. Wine faced a 40 percent duty. Oranges, cotton, and dairy products also saw steep increases. As a result American Agriculture has suffered, especially soybeans in the MidWest., In California alone agricultural exports to China collapsed with the total value of 13 major commodities dropping from an average of $1.8 billion (2020 through 2024) to just $780 million in 2025, a 57 percent decline, according to research at UC Davis.. California Congressmen Jim Costa, MIke Thompson and John Garamendi met with California farmers the week of the Supreme Court ruling where there were expressions of strong opposition to the Trump imposed trade wars. House Ag Committee member, Congressman Jim Costa explained the implications of the trade issue and the scheduled mark up to the proposed Farm Bill that is getting underway. Here are Congressman Costa’s opening remarks to the farmers and a follow-up exchange with Congressman Thompson at a farmer meeting at the Yolo County Farm Bureau Office in Woodland California.

The future of agriculture will utilize the development and application of robotic technology. Jaisimha Rao explains a robotic machine that uses AI and cameras to distinguish between crops and weeds, then sprays herbicides specifically on weeds. There is potential of humanoid robots in agricultureJ. Their AI system identifies weeds using visual recognition, contrasting it with text-based AI models like ChatGPT. The system involves collecting and annotating weed images by agronomists in India, which are then used to train the AI model. Once trained, the AI can recognize specific weed species and control the dual-tank system to apply the appropriate herbicides in a single pass. All mechanical manufacturing for their robots is conducted in the US, with only cameras being sourced from India. www.niqorobotics.com

At a time when America’s meat industry faces increasing consolidation, fragile supply chains, and the closure of rural processing facilities, Better For Butchery’s acquisition of the Princeton Kentucky plant represents a rare, forward-looking investment in independent meat infrastructure. Backed by USDA Rural Development financing, the facility will serve as a scalable, high-integrity co-packing and processing hub designed to help farmers, ranchers, and emerging meat brands reach market without sacrificing quality, transparency, or control. USDA Rural Development played ia critical role n enabling the acquisition. The facility was financed through an MPILP loan backed by the USDA aimed at strengthening rural economies, expanding domestic meat processing capacity, and supporting independent producers seeking alternatives to large-scale industrial packers. the facility now serves as Better For Butchery’s centralized processing, packaging, cold storage, and fulfillment hub. Purpose-built to support third-party brands, the operation enables consistent quality, reliable scheduling, and national distribution for farmers and food businesses that have historically struggled to access scalable processing. Better For Butchery’s acquisition marks a turning point for the company—from turnaround operator to platform-scale processor—and formally launches its co-packing and third-party processing services for emerging and established food brands committed to ethical sourcing and operational transparency. Chris Roach, CEO of Better Butchery joins Farm To Table TAlk to share what’s possible when public investment and private execution align. “With USDA Rural Development’s support, we’re rebuilding meat infrastructure in a way that works for farmers, workers, and brands alike—right here in rural Kentucky. Our approach is proving that modern, compliant, and values-driven meat processing can be decentralized to establish a new meat economy that is better for farmers, better for animals and better for all of us.” www.BetterForButhery.com www.porterroad.com