The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced plans to purchase Black Beans, Great Northern Beans, Kidney Beans, Navy Beans, Pinto Beans, and Small Red Beans for distribution to various food nutrition assistance programs. Purchases will be made under the authority of Section 32.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), effective immediately, will post only certificates of protection. Application documents will no longer be posted in their entirety on the Certificate Management System (CMS) website, and all current posted application documents will be removed by September 1, 2025 to be in compliance with USDA’s updated Personally Identifiable Information (PII) handling protocols and requirements.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced plans to purchase Black Bean Burger Patties for distribution to various food nutrition assistance programs. This pre-solicitation notice is valid for anticipated solicitations covering FY 2025.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is reminding stakeholders of the mandatory import requirements for certain tomatoes from Mexico under Section 608e (8e) of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA).

What This Means for Importers:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced the Remote Butter Grading Program, allowing more butter manufacturers to access to new marketing opportunities providing dairy farmers additional opportunities to market milk for use in a value-added product. This program utilizes robust data management and program oversight to allow a USDA grader to assess butter characteristics and assign the official quality grade from a remote location, reducing costs and location as barriers to participation in voluntary grading services.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced grant proposals are being accepted for the Sheep Production and Marketing Grant Program (SPMGP) for projects designed to improve the U.S. sheep industry. The funding is managed by the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center (NSIIC), which is the recipient responsible for implementing the SPMGP. The center has allocated $300,000 for this year’s round of grant funding. NSIIC is currently accepting grant proposals through September 15, 2025.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking nominees for the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. The deadline for nominations is Aug. 18, 2025.

From the nominees, the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint 12 individuals to succeed members whose terms expire on Oct. 31, 2025, and one individual to fill a vacant seat in Region 4 whose term expires on Oct. 31, 2026. The 12 newly appointed members who are succeeding other members will serve three-year terms from Nov. 1, 2025, through Oct. 31, 2028.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host an in-person educational event for cattle producers and interested stakeholders at the USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Center (CCTC) at West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) in Canyon, Texas on Thursday, Sept.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking nominees for one producer position and one expert in finance and management to serve three-year terms on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Board of Directors. Nominations are due, Sept. 8, 2025.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking nominees for the American Lamb Board to succeed four members with terms that expire in early 2026.

• One producer with 100 or less lamb
• One producer with more than 500 lambs
• One feeder at large
• One first handler

Any U.S. producer, feeder, or first handler who owns or purchases lambs may be considered for nomination. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 8, 2025.