A $700 million regenerative farming pilot program may falter without the needed USDA staff and expertise

Clover is a "workhorse" cover crop used in regenerative
farming. (Photo by Veronica White, Unsplash)

Despite a $700 million budget and farmers excited about the program, the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative may have trouble getting off the ground. "The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has lost more than 2,000 employees since January 2025, potentially harming the department’s ability to roll out the initiative," reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder.

The initiative was announced last December as a joint effort by the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services to help farmers incorporate more regenerative farming practices, such as cover crops and no-till farming.

For the most part, the Trump administration's NRCS layoffs mostly terminated newer or early-career employees, who "are the employees who would have likely helped with the rollout of the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative," Carlson reports. "Without the necessary staffing, the initiative could falter — even though it’s likely to be very popular among farmers."

At its current staffing levels, the NRCS doesn't have enough employees to help farmers through the application and award process, and it may lack personnel with the right expertise, Carlson reports. 

When the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative was announced, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy,Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz issued a shared press release extolling the need for "American farmers [to] adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, all while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply."

It's unclear how American farmers can meet those goals without the necessary USDA staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service to support farmers who want to participate in RAI. Carlson adds, "For farmers planning to apply for funds through the initiative, it’s quite possible their questions to the agency will go unanswered with fewer people on the job to assist."

Quick hits: Super Bowl food line-up; heavy metal plants; immigration explained; changing U.S. geographical names

Buffalo chicken dip sweeps the Midwest and much of the South. (Coffeeness map via Mental Floss)

Super Bowl game parties are all about sporting fun served with delightful spreads of game-night food. "The Super Bowl is more than the championship game for professional football teams in the U.S. Super Bowl Sunday is the country’s 'second-largest food consumption day' (right after Thanksgiving)," reports CaLea Johnson for Mental Floss. "But which foods and desserts do Americans love most for the event?" Researchers mapped the answers state-by-state.

With China in control of much of the world's critical minerals and recently restricting exports to the U.S., that's causing “Western scientists and companies to embark on increasingly novel ways to develop alternative sources,” reports Jon Emont of The Wall Street Journal. One relatively inexpensive idea is to harvest plants grown in mineral-rich soil and purify them into nickel concentrate, which can create stainless steel and other metals.

Americans are waking up to all-time-high coffee prices.
(Coffeeness photo)

Some may blame President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff threat on Colombian products for the jump in coffee prices; however, coffee costs began climbing long before the Trump-Petro dustup. “Coffee futures have been elevated since 2011 as bad weather has plagued key coffee-growing regions like Brazil and Colombia," reports Vanessa Yurkevich of CNN. "And the region’s next crop isn’t expected to produce a bigger yield. . . . With or without a threatened tariff, coffee prices are high and will likely continue rising.”

How the new administration is addressing illegal immigration to the U.S. is hashed over by news media multiple times a day. However, the discussions toss around a lot of terms many Americans may not fully understand. Two scholars of immigration "who closely follow public discussions about immigration policy, trends and terminology" help de-mystify immigration terms, write Ernesto Castañeda and Daniel Jenks for The Conversation. "Understanding the many different immigration terms – some technical, some not – can help people better understand immigration news. While not an exhaustive list, there are 10 important terms to know."

Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in the world from base-to-peak on land, measuring 18,000 ft.
(Photo by Bryson Beaver, Unsplash)

When President Donald Trump ordered the name of North America’s tallest peak to be "changed from Denali back to Mount McKinley in honor of the nation’s 25th president, William McKinley, he put the spotlight on the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. . . . A little-known panel made up of officials from several federal agencies that has been in existence since 1890," reports Susan Montoya Bryan of The Associated Press. Under the Trump administration, the board "will have new members, but the makeup will be the same with representatives from several agencies ranging from the Interior and Commerce departments to the Post Office and the Library of Congress. Even the CIA plays a role when the board considers place names beyond U.S. borders."

The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December set off a maelstrom of emotion from Americans sick of dealing with the U.S. health care system. The shooting compelled many U.S. physicians to speak out about what they think are the systemic issues with U.S. health care companies. Their video discussion by The Wall Street Journal is shared here.