Dec 05 2025 December 5, 2025 December 5, 2025 NoComment by Mike Callicrate

News Roundup: A New Film Lifting Up Farmers Healing Our Soil

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lus: One Tyson decision means nationwide fallout.

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COMMON GROUND: A NEW FILM LIFTING UP FARMERS HEALING OUR SOIL
Farm Action is proud to serve as an educational partner for Common Ground Redux, a new 45-minute, farmer-centered version of the award-winning documentary Common Ground. This special edition was created to make the film easier to use in classrooms, community groups, and farm organizations—and it’s free to watch and share.

Common Ground Redux spotlights farmers and ranchers across the country who are rebuilding soil health, strengthening rural economies, and proving that regenerative agriculture is both practical and profitable. Their stories show what’s possible when land stewardship and farmer independence guide the future of American agriculture.

As part of this effort, Farm Action President Angela Huffman has joined the advisors for American Regeneration, helping elevate farmer-led solutions to advance regenerative agriculture.

You can watch the film, host a local screening, or share it with your networks using the free resources below.
 

CHECKOFF PROGRAMS: FARMERS FUNDING THEIR OPPONENTS
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Our newest post in The Food Monopoly Files exposes one of the least visible drivers of monopoly power: government checkoff programs that quietly pull money from farmers’ pockets and funnel it to corporate-controlled organizations.

Once voluntary, checkoffs are now mandatory fees that farmers and ranchers pay every time they sell any of 22 commodities—including beef, pork, milk, eggs, and soybeans—totaling nearly $1 billion annually. Routed through government-sanctioned boards, the funds flow to powerful trade groups that advance agendas undermining independent producers. With documented misuse and weak oversight, the system is riddled with conflicts of interest and little accountability.

Our new blog breaks down how farmers are being forced to bankroll the very system driving consolidation in agriculture, and why transparency, oversight, and structural reform are urgently needed.
 

TYSON’S PLANT CLOSURE EXPOSES THE COST OF CORPORATE CONSOLIDATION
Tyson Foods’ decision to close its beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, will eliminate 3,200 jobs in a town of just 10,000 people and remove a facility that processed 5,000 head of cattle a day. A shutdown of this size devastates a small rural community—families leave, local schools and businesses lose enrollment and spending, and long-term investments stall.
But the impact does not stop at the town’s borders. With just four corporations controlling nearly all U.S. beef processing, one closure can send shockwaves across the country. Ranchers lose a major buyer overnight, processing capacity shrinks, and imported beef continues to rise.
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This is why policies like Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) and stronger antitrust enforcement are essential to rebuilding competition and stability in the beef supply chain.

In a new post, Farm Action’s Angela Huffman explains what’s at stake and what must change to ensure decisions made in corporate boardrooms don’t keep gutting rural America.
 

FARM ACTION MOVEMENT NEWS
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Sarah Carden, The Capitol Forum

Opinion: Farmers Need Fair Markets, Not More Mixed Signals from Washington
“Only by tackling monopolies head-on can we rebuild a farm economy that works for the people who grow our food and for the communities they sustain,” writes Farm Action’s Sarah Carden.
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Chris Clayton, Progressive Farmer

Policy Groups Push for Needs-Based Aid
Farm Action Fund joined a diverse coalition in urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to focus on "commonsense financial accountability" as the department prepares a farmer aid package.
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Oliver Ward, Agri-Pulse (Paywalled)

USMCA hearing showcases deal’s ag winners, losers
Farm Action called for MCOOL, echoing its written comments submitted as part of the information gathering process ahead of the trade deal’s review.
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Michael Chameides, Labor Tribune

Opinion: Rural America has a plan. Congress needs to show up
Farm Action helped shape the Rural Policy Action Report, which provides a roadmap for Congress to support farmers and rural communities rather than corporate interests.
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Tommy Enright, Barn Raiser

Opinion: Thanksgiving Is Built on Farmers. Our Food System Should Be Too.
As corporations tighten their grip on our food system and shrink the farmers’ share of the food dollar, Farm Action highlights that just four meatpacking giants control more than 80% of the industry.
 

FARM ACTION TESTIFIES BEFORE TRADE OFFICIALS: A CRITICAL MOMENT FOR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING
On December 3, Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell testified before the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), urging the administration to restore MCOOL for beef and pork through the 2026 United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) review.
Joe highlighted what ranchers are seeing on the ground: The U.S. cattle herd is at its smallest size in 70 years, beef imports are rising to record levels, and consumers still have no clear way to choose U.S.-raised beef at the grocery store.

He emphasized that reinstating MCOOL is essential to rebuilding the domestic herd, strengthening rural economies, and restoring fair competition.
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The USMCA Joint Review is the clearest path to resolve past disputes and deliver honest, enforceable labeling. Now, farmers and consumers are counting on USTR to act.
 

IN PARTNERSHIP: PUSHING USDA AND HHS TO SUPPORT FARMERS, NOT CORPORATE GIANTS
Over the past two weeks, we have joined partners across the political spectrum to urge two federal agencies to ensure taxpayer-funded programs serve the public—not funnel more resources to the largest corporations.

  • With USDA expected to announce “bridge payments” next week to help farmers hit by trade-related losses, Farm Action Fund joined diverse partners to push one basic point: Taxpayer-funded aid must serve the public, not the largest corporations. In a letter to USDA, Farm Action Fund joined R Street Institute, Land Core, the National Taxpayers Union, and others in calling for trade aid that is transparent, based on need, and directed to working farmers—not absentee landowners or the largest agribusinesses.
  • Farm Action joined a broad coalition of Make America Healthy Again-aligned organizations in urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to use its purchasing power to provide healthier meals across its programs. The memo urges HHS to prioritize organic, minimally processed, and pasture-raised foods in the Indian Health Service, Head Start, senior nutrition programs, and federal cafeterias—improving public health while supporting independent farmers and strengthening rural economies.
 

JOIN OUR TEAM: COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
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Farm Action is hiring a Communications Director to lead our strategic communications and strengthen our rural, farmer-led voice in the fight for fairness in food and agriculture. This remote role is for a seasoned communications leader who can turn complex policy into clear, compelling stories and guide the direction for press outreach, digital channels, publications, and creative content.

If you, or someone you know, has strong communications leadership experience and wants to help build a food system that works for people, not corporate giants, we’d love to hear from you.
 

WHAT’S THE TALK?
Here’s what the Farm Action team has been reading:

Marion Nestle’sFood Politics covers Farm Action’s analysis, which warns that the collapse in U.S. soybean exports has exposed deep structural problems in agriculture.

The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Bayer’s bid to curtail lawsuits claiming Roundup causes cancer, reports Reuters.

Friends of the Earth released data showing California schools boosted organic produce purchases through USDA’s Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, supporting organic farmers while improving students’ access to healthier foods.

More Perfect Union’s video shows that farm debt is set to reach a record $560 billion this year, driven not just by the China trade war, but by a few dominant corporations that control farmers’ markets and leave producers barely breaking even.

Fox Business reports that San Francisco is suing 10 major food manufacturers, including Kraft Heinz and ConAgra, for fueling a public health crisis with ultra-processed foods.
 
Our work is made possible by supporters like you. Please consider making a donation to fund our fight to create a food system that works for everyone, not just a handful of powerful corporations.
 
Written and edited by: Angela Huffman and Jessica Cusworth

ABOUT US
Farm Action is a nonpartisan, farmer-led organization working to hold government and large corporations accountable in our food system. Our political partner, Farm Action Fund, builds the political muscle to turn our ideas into action—from state and federal policy reforms to the ballot box.
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Together, our farmer-led organizations form a seamless chain of action: from research and policy development to legislation and elections that advance a fair, sustainable, and healthy food system for all.
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