Weekly Update for
December 18

Registration and hotel booking are now open for the 2026 Joint NAWG/USW/NWF Winter Meeting, taking place Monday, January 26 through Thursday, January 29, 2026, in Washington, DC at The Westin Washington, DC Downtown hotel. We would encourage all attendees to arrive before the Operations and Planning Committee meeting at 1 PM on Monday, January 26. The Board of Directors will conclude at noon on Thursday, January 29, so please plan your return trip accordingly. The DCA airport is approximately a 20-minute drive from the hotel. The deadline to register and book your hotel room is January 2. Registration costs for NAWG members are $125 and nonmembers are $250. NAWG will invoice your association after the event. Additionally, make sure to book your hotel room through our website versus a third-party website to get a discount rate. All rooms from the NAWG block that are not confirmed on or before January 2 will be released back to hotel inventory and the conference rate will no longer be available after this date. Register and book your accommodation below.

On December 12, United States and Mexico reached an understanding to meet the current water obligations of American farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to repay the water deficit in Texas as part of the 1944 Water Treaty. This agreement extends to the current cycle and the previous cycle’s water deficit. “President Trump continues to put American farmers first and is finally holding our international partners accountable to their obligations and commitments. Once again, America is being treated fairly,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. “Farmers across South Texas have been reeling from the uncertainty caused by the lack of water. Now they can expect the resources promised to them, thanks to President Trump’s leadership. I thank Mexico for their willingness to abide by the treaty and return to good standing with their past obligations. Mexico has delivered more water in the last year than in the previous four years combined. Although this is a step in the right direction, President Trump has been very clear: if Mexico continues to violate its commitments, the United States reserves the right and will impose 5% tariffs on Mexican products.”

This week U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins published an opinion piece in The Hill highlighting the ways USDA is partnering with Governors to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Also, this week U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. published a joint opinion piece in Newsweek highlighting the Trump Administration's latest Make America Healthy Again initiative with a focus on regenerative farming and soil health. Read the full pieces below.

On December 11, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Mike Rounds (R-SD) led 21 of their colleagues in urging Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to move forward with the USDA’s avian flu vaccine strategy for poultry while encouraging a comprehensive, science-based approach. “We are writing to encourage the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue prioritizing an avian flu vaccine strategy that takes into account a comprehensive, science-based approach for the potential vaccination of poultry and livestock that have been impacted by this disease,” wrote the Senators. “Avian flu infections have already begun to increase as winter approaches, and it is essential that USDA take renewed action to address and fight this virus.”

Progressive Farmer is the official publication of the National Wheat Yield Contest. They do a great job helping us spread the word about the contest and what the winners are doing to achieve their high yields and high quality. Check out this excellent story by Jason Jenkins about our Bin Buster, Steve VanGrunsven. 

Please let all the college students in agriculture know that there are scholarships available from BASF and the National Wheat Foundation. Applications are due December 31, 2025 and we will award two $2500 scholarships in January 2026. Application and more information can be found below.