Monday April 27 Ag News - LENRD April Meeting Notes - USDA Moves More Research to US-MARC Clay Center - 2nd SDRP Payments Expected - Cold Storage Summary - and more!

 Collaboration to Keep Battle Creek Flood Conversation Moving Forward Discussed at LENRD April Board Meeting

The Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District continues to work towards finding a solution for flooding issues in the City of Battle Creek.

At the Board of Directors Meeting on Thursday, April 23, Directors agreed with staff’s recommendation to create a committee for Battle Creek flood mitigation. The committee will consist of Directors appointed by the Chairman (less than a quorum) and representatives from the City of Battle Creek. They will work together to define goals and priorities, utilizing the available programs from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to be considered in formulating a possible recommendation for flood mitigation for the community.

Directors also heard and voted on Urban Conservation Assistance Program and Recreation Area Development Program applications.

The Urban Conservation Assistance Program provides technical and financial assistance to government entities such as cities, counties, villages, and schools, to help prevent or control erosion, flooding, and related resource concerns in urbanized areas while the Recreation Area Development Program provides financial assistance to acquire land rights, design, establish, develop, and improve public recreation areas.

Ultimately, seven Recreation Area Development Program Applications were approved for funding totaling $150,000.00.

Connor Bladwin, Groundwater Management Area Specialist, gave a presentation on his participation with Nebraska Water Leaders Academy. The Academy, established in 2009, provides learning opportunities focused on cooperative approaches to solving Nebraska’s water issues. It is made up of men and women from every corner of Nebraska who meet in a year-long program to learn the principles of first-rate leadership and about the vital role of rivers, streams and aquifers in Nebraska. It is supported through the Water Futures Partnership-Nebraska with University of Nebraska-Lincoln partnering to provide program curriculum. Bruckner, General Manager, was a member of the inaugural Nebraska Water Leaders Academy.

Baldwin also updated the Board on the status of outstanding Management Area Reports from the 2025 growing season as well as producers who had not yet completed Nitrogen Certification. He explained that staff are more lenient with annual reporting this year due to the change to the new reporting system and bugs encountered during the reporting period. As of the meeting, all producers had secured Nitrogen Certification.

To learn more about the 12 responsibilities of Nebraska’s NRDs and how your local District can work with you and your community to protect your natural resources, visit www.lenrd.org and sign up for our monthly emails. The next board of directors meeting will be Thursday, May 28th, at the LENRD office in Norfolk at 7:30 p.m. and on Facebook Live. 



Fischer Welcomes USDA Announcement to Relocate Research Project to Clay Center

U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement that the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center will be expanding its federal research capabilities by receiving additional employees and projects to the state. Under the plan, Nebraska will gain one research project and a total of 10 employees.  

“This move by the USDA is one that will benefit Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers,” Fischer said. “I welcome this announcement by the department, which is a real effort to place folks in the field, closer to those who are impacted by their work. I look forward to seeing this move finalized. I want to thank Secretary Rollins and Undersecretary Hutchins for their leadership on this issue. I’ll continue working with them to advance Nebraska’s priorities.”

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently announced the relocation of research projects across the country. This is an effort to move projects closer to the stakeholders they serve and allow ARS researchers with more opportunities to engage directly with farmers and ranchers. 



USDA Issues Second Supplemental Disaster Payment to Farmers, Extends Program Application Deadline to August 12

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins Friday announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is maximizing disaster assistance support for producers by issuing a second Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) payment to eligible producers who have approved program applications for losses due to natural disasters in calendar years 2023 and 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already provided $6.7 billion in SDRP payments to eligible producers. Additionally, USDA is extending the program deadline to give producers and FSA more time to address any program application changes that could impact payments. The original April 30 deadline has been extended to Aug. 12, 2026, for SDRP Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Initial SDRP payments were factored at 35%, but after further analysis, USDA is increasing the payment factor to 70%, meaning producers with approved applications will receive an additional 35% of their calculated SDRP payment. Future SDRP payments will also be made using a 70% payment factor.

“President Trump is the most pro-farmer President of our lifetime, and through his leadership, the Administration is supporting farmers through unprecedented international market access, lowered taxes, and improvements to the farm safety net with the Working Families Tax Cuts. By extending the program deadline and making available this additional payment, we are continuing to put farmers first during this difficult farm economy,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “To help secure the economic viability of disaster-impacted farmers, we’re taking deliberate steps to provide stronger, more meaningful financial support for our nation’s agricultural producers.”

Over the past year, the Trump administration and USDA, under the leadership of Secretary Rollins, have supported U.S. farmers and ranchers with over $17.9 billion in supplemental disaster assistance mandated by Congress in the American Relief Act, 2025. To date, USDA has provided over $6.7 billion in SDRP payments, $9.3 billion through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program and nearly $1.9 billion through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program.

Additionally, through recent efforts to provide economic relief as the Trump administration works to open new markets, FSA has made over $10 billion in payments, to date, through the Farmers Bridge Assistance program with more assistance on the way for specialty crop producers. Since 2025, through permanent programs, FSA has provided over $2.0 billion in disaster assistance, $5.3 billion in commodity price support, $3.1 billion in safety net assistance, and $685 million through conservation programs.

All in all, this administration has put Farmers First with over $39.1 billion in economic support needed to recover from market and weather-related financial hardships beyond their control, protect our natural resources and keep their operations moving forward.

SDRP Stage 1
The first stage, announced in July 2025, remains available to producers who received an indemnity under crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for eligible crop losses due to qualifying 2023 and 2024 natural disaster events.

SDRP Stage 2
Stage 2 of SDRP covers eligible crop, tree, bush and vine losses that were not covered under Stage One program provisions, including non-indemnified (shallow loss), uncovered and quality losses.

Eligibility
Eligible losses must be the result of natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and/or 2024. These disasters include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.

To qualify for drought related losses, the loss must have occurred in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks, D3 (extreme drought), or greater intensity level during the applicable calendar year.

FSA is establishing block grants with Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Massachusetts that cover crop losses; therefore, producers with losses on land physically located in these states are not eligible for SDRP program payments.

More Information
For more information on SDRP, please visit fsa.usda.gov/sdrp.



USDA Cold Storage March 2026 Highlights

Total red meat supplies in freezers on March 31, 2026 were down slightly from the previous month and down 2 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 2 percent from the previous month and down 3 percent from last year. Frozen pork supplies were up 2 percent from the previous month and up slightly from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 5 percent from last month but down 13 percent from last year.

Total frozen poultry supplies on March 31, 2026 were down slightly from the previous month and down 5 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were down 3 percent from the previous month and down 3 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 9 percent from last month but down 9 percent from March 31, 2025.

Total natural cheese stocks in refrigerated warehouses on March 31, 2026 were up 1 percent from the previous month but 
down 2 percent from March 31, 2025. Butter stocks were up 13 percent from last month but down 11 percent from a year ago.

Total frozen fruit stocks on March 31, 2026 were down 6 percent from last month but up 4 percent from a year ago. Total frozen vegetable stocks were down 9 percent from last month and down 8 percent from a year ago.



USDA Dairy Products 2025 Production Summary

Total cheese production, excluding cottage cheeses, was 14.8 billion pounds, 4.0 percent above 2024 production. Wisconsin was the leading State with 24.6 percent of the production.

Italian varieties, with 6.33 billion pounds were 5.1 percent above 2024 production and accounted for 42.8 percent of total cheese in 2025. Mozzarella accounted for 79.1 percent of the Italian production, followed by Parmesan with 8.3 percent and Provolone with 6.2 percent. Wisconsin was the leading State in Italian cheese production with 28.4 percent of the production.

American type cheese production was 5.83 billion pounds, 4.6 percent above 2024 and accounted for 39.4 percent of total cheese in 2025. Wisconsin was the leading State in American type cheese production with 18.2 percent of the production.

Butter production in the United States during 2025 totaled 2.39 billion pounds, 6.7 percent above 2024. California accounted for 28.4 percent of the production.

Dry milk powders (2025 United States production, comparisons with 2024)
Nonfat dry milk, human - 1.66 billion pounds, up slightly.
Skim milk powders - 504 million pounds, down 15.9 percent.

Whey products (2025 United States production, comparisons with 2024)
Dry whey, total - 845 million pounds, down 1.0 percent.
Lactose, human and animal - 1.14 billion pounds, up 2.6 percent.
Whey protein concentrate, total - 502 million pounds, up 2.1 percent.

Frozen products (2025 United States production, comparisons with 2024)
Ice cream, Regular (total) - 845 million gallons, down 9.2 percent. 
Ice cream, Lowfat (total) - 381 million gallons, down 21.5 percent. 
Sherbet (total) - 25.0 million gallons, down 5.7 percent. 
Frozen Yogurt (total) - 34.1 million gallons, down 3.9 percent. 



NCBA Members Bring Cattle Industry Priorities to Washington During Legislative Conference

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), and its nationwide network of state affiliates, concluded its 2026 Legislative Conference this week, bringing together cattle producers from across the country to advocate for policy solutions that strengthen America’s cattle industry and rural communities. Throughout the conference, producers met with federal officials and engaged directly with policymakers on Capitol Hill to ensure the voice of cattle producers is heard in Washington.

“NCBA’s Legislative Conference is where grassroots policy meets action,” said NCBA President Gene Copenhaver, a Virginia cattle producer. “Our members traveled to Washington to share real-world perspectives from their operations and reinforce why strong, commonsense policies are essential to keeping family farms and ranches viable for the next generation. From protecting animal health to advancing regulatory reform, NCBA members are leading the charge on behalf of the entire cattle industry.”

During their time in Washington, NCBA members emphasized several top policy priorities, including:
    Delisting the gray wolf and passing the Pet and Livestock Protection Act
    Advancing passage of a new Farm Bill
    Supporting funding for research, management, and control of the Longhorned tick and the diseases it carries

In addition to Capitol Hill meetings, NCBA members participated in discussions with key federal agencies. Producers met with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including the Food Safety and Inspection Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Agricultural Marketing Service, as well as representatives from the Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach addressed attendees, discussing the impact of the Working Families Tax Cuts and economic support for rural America. Producers also received a demonstration of new tools from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service designed to enhance transparency and market opportunities within the cattle industry.

The Legislative Conference is a cornerstone of NCBA’s grassroots advocacy efforts, connecting cattle producers through NCBA and its state affiliates with policy makers in Washington, D.C. This producer-led engagement reinforces the organization’s role as the definitive voice of the U.S. cattle industry and ensures real-world perspectives from cattle operations are part of the policy process.