Lydia Johnson

Greer and Bessent to meet with Chinese as Trump kicks off Asia tour

The Kern County Water Agency board of directors named Eric Averett as the next general manager. He has a long history with the agency dating back to 1991 when he started in an entry-level field staff position and rose through management roles for 17 years. He left to serve as general manager of agency member unit Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District for 13 years. He has served as chief executive officer of Atlas Water since 2021. Averett was recently on the Kern County Water Agency’s board of directors, but he stepped down in early October.

President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January and quickly followed through on many of his campaign promises – an aggressive trade agenda, a renewed focus on food inflation, and the use of a Republican-controlled House and Senate to enact a sweeping budget reconciliation bill that included major new agriculture spending.

The Court of International Trade will hear arguments today on whether President Donald Trump’s global tariff passes legal muster as opponents push for a swift decision.

The Trump administration is keeping details on preparations for the president’s trip to China closely guarded.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R‑Kan., is introducing legislation to block tariffs on phosphate fertilizer, saying the move would help lower costs for U.S. growers.

Dairy Management Inc., the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association elected new officers to guide the national dairy checkoff. Marilyn Hershey, a Cochranville, Pa., farmer was reelected as DMI chair. Additional officers include: Mary Kraft of Fort Morgan, Colorado, as vice president;

Nicole Elliott of San Francisco was appointed to the California Water Commission. She was previously director of the California Department of Cannabis Control from 2021 to 2025 and was a senior adviser on cannabis in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom from 2019 to 2021. The position requires Senate confirmation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A farm bill vote in the House got snarled in a frenzied day of political maneuvering around a push to expand America's corn ethanol market.