Leah Douglas
@leahjdouglas.bsky.social
Reuters journalist covering agriculture, fed agencies, more. email: [email protected]; signal: leahjdouglas.01
on the food & ag beat for 10-15 years, depending how you count. they/them.
https://reuters.com/authors/leah-douglas | www.leahjdouglas.com
on the food & ag beat for 10-15 years, depending how you count. they/them.
https://reuters.com/authors/leah-douglas | www.leahjdouglas.com
Two of the top three stories on @reuters.com are the latest news on SNAP and WIC. Keep with us for the latest.
November 3, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Two of the top three stories on @reuters.com are the latest news on SNAP and WIC. Keep with us for the latest.
A banner on the USDA website says SNAP benefits will not go out on November 1.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry.”
An agency memo yesterday said the USDA will not use contingency funds for Nov. benefits: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
“Bottom line, the well has run dry.”
An agency memo yesterday said the USDA will not use contingency funds for Nov. benefits: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
October 26, 2025 at 2:02 AM
A banner on the USDA website says SNAP benefits will not go out on November 1.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry.”
An agency memo yesterday said the USDA will not use contingency funds for Nov. benefits: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
“Bottom line, the well has run dry.”
An agency memo yesterday said the USDA will not use contingency funds for Nov. benefits: www.reuters.com/world/us/usd...
Food banks, already under strain, say there is little they can do to prepare for the likelihood that SNAP and WIC benefits will lapse in November.
We talked to 9 food banks in 8 states and heard the same thing again and again.
“We’re in some real trouble.”
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
We talked to 9 food banks in 8 states and heard the same thing again and again.
“We’re in some real trouble.”
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
October 25, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Food banks, already under strain, say there is little they can do to prepare for the likelihood that SNAP and WIC benefits will lapse in November.
We talked to 9 food banks in 8 states and heard the same thing again and again.
“We’re in some real trouble.”
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
We talked to 9 food banks in 8 states and heard the same thing again and again.
“We’re in some real trouble.”
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Democrats say the Trump administration is violating the Hatch Act by posting political messages on government websites, like the USDA. Reporting by me and Steve Holland.
October 2, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Democrats say the Trump administration is violating the Hatch Act by posting political messages on government websites, like the USDA. Reporting by me and Steve Holland.
Safety trainings for workers in America's most dangerous jobs - farming, fishing and logging - could be scaled back or wound down entirely as soon as July as a result of Trump's drive to slash the size and cost of the federal government, @reuters.com has found.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
May 31, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Safety trainings for workers in America's most dangerous jobs - farming, fishing and logging - could be scaled back or wound down entirely as soon as July as a result of Trump's drive to slash the size and cost of the federal government, @reuters.com has found.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
More than 15,000 USDA staff - about 15% of the agency workforce - have taken Trump's financial incentive to quit, according to data shared with congress by the agency. And that number could rise.
Who's leaving? Details in the chart below, and story here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/mor...
Who's leaving? Details in the chart below, and story here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/mor...
May 4, 2025 at 5:55 PM
More than 15,000 USDA staff - about 15% of the agency workforce - have taken Trump's financial incentive to quit, according to data shared with congress by the agency. And that number could rise.
Who's leaving? Details in the chart below, and story here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/mor...
Who's leaving? Details in the chart below, and story here:
www.reuters.com/world/us/mor...
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration has fired staff working on the FDA's bird flu response as part of today's mass layoffs at HHS.
Among those fired were staff at the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, which oversees a lab network that tests pet food for bird flu.
Among those fired were staff at the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, which oversees a lab network that tests pet food for bird flu.
April 1, 2025 at 5:26 PM
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration has fired staff working on the FDA's bird flu response as part of today's mass layoffs at HHS.
Among those fired were staff at the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, which oversees a lab network that tests pet food for bird flu.
Among those fired were staff at the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, which oversees a lab network that tests pet food for bird flu.
First in @reuters.com: The Trump administration is offering financial incentives for USDA employees to quit this month, according to an email sent to staff last night.
April 1, 2025 at 2:13 PM
First in @reuters.com: The Trump administration is offering financial incentives for USDA employees to quit this month, according to an email sent to staff last night.
Trump’s regulatory freeze has injected chaos and uncertainty into a number of lucrative American fisheries, according to Reuters interviews with industry groups and federal government employees.
My latest with @valerievolc.bsky.social and @gloriadickie.bsky.social:
www.reuters.com/world/us/how...
My latest with @valerievolc.bsky.social and @gloriadickie.bsky.social:
www.reuters.com/world/us/how...
March 23, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Trump’s regulatory freeze has injected chaos and uncertainty into a number of lucrative American fisheries, according to Reuters interviews with industry groups and federal government employees.
My latest with @valerievolc.bsky.social and @gloriadickie.bsky.social:
www.reuters.com/world/us/how...
My latest with @valerievolc.bsky.social and @gloriadickie.bsky.social:
www.reuters.com/world/us/how...
Those bird flu staff fired by USDA last week? They were rehired three days later.
And actually, hundreds of workers fired in Trump and Musk’s rush to remake the US government have been rehired.
w/ Tim Gardner, Tim Reid, and Valerie Volcovici:
www.reuters.com/world/us/fir...
And actually, hundreds of workers fired in Trump and Musk’s rush to remake the US government have been rehired.
w/ Tim Gardner, Tim Reid, and Valerie Volcovici:
www.reuters.com/world/us/fir...
February 21, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Those bird flu staff fired by USDA last week? They were rehired three days later.
And actually, hundreds of workers fired in Trump and Musk’s rush to remake the US government have been rehired.
w/ Tim Gardner, Tim Reid, and Valerie Volcovici:
www.reuters.com/world/us/fir...
And actually, hundreds of workers fired in Trump and Musk’s rush to remake the US government have been rehired.
w/ Tim Gardner, Tim Reid, and Valerie Volcovici:
www.reuters.com/world/us/fir...
When work hits home. 😬
February 9, 2025 at 10:14 PM
When work hits home. 😬
New Trump NIH funding policy would hamper efforts to keep E. coli out of salad.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
February 8, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New Trump NIH funding policy would hamper efforts to keep E. coli out of salad.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/u...
BREAKING: There are no staff left at USAID to process waivers submitted by food and other aid organizations hoping to resume operations under humanitarian exemptions to Trump's international aid freeze, five sources tell me, Jonathan Landay, Lisa Baertlein, and Patricia Zengerle.
February 7, 2025 at 7:39 PM
BREAKING: There are no staff left at USAID to process waivers submitted by food and other aid organizations hoping to resume operations under humanitarian exemptions to Trump's international aid freeze, five sources tell me, Jonathan Landay, Lisa Baertlein, and Patricia Zengerle.
“One of the first places shoppers may feel the impact of increased tariffs is in the grocery aisle,” per the Washington Post:
February 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
“One of the first places shoppers may feel the impact of increased tariffs is in the grocery aisle,” per the Washington Post:
NEW: Nutrition programs SNAP and WIC will NOT be affected by federal freeze on grants and loans going into effect Tuesday, per a senior White House official.
There's been a lot of uncertainty about this today. Here's what I have so far for @reuters.com:
There's been a lot of uncertainty about this today. Here's what I have so far for @reuters.com:
January 28, 2025 at 6:53 PM
NEW: Nutrition programs SNAP and WIC will NOT be affected by federal freeze on grants and loans going into effect Tuesday, per a senior White House official.
There's been a lot of uncertainty about this today. Here's what I have so far for @reuters.com:
There's been a lot of uncertainty about this today. Here's what I have so far for @reuters.com:
Looking forward to holiday baking? Expect pricier eggs.
Bird flu is driving wholesale egg prices to all-time highs.
35 million (!) egg-laying hens have been killed this year, nearly half in the past three months.
"It's just rampant," said one analyst.
Bird flu is driving wholesale egg prices to all-time highs.
35 million (!) egg-laying hens have been killed this year, nearly half in the past three months.
"It's just rampant," said one analyst.
December 20, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Looking forward to holiday baking? Expect pricier eggs.
Bird flu is driving wholesale egg prices to all-time highs.
35 million (!) egg-laying hens have been killed this year, nearly half in the past three months.
"It's just rampant," said one analyst.
Bird flu is driving wholesale egg prices to all-time highs.
35 million (!) egg-laying hens have been killed this year, nearly half in the past three months.
"It's just rampant," said one analyst.
Trump says deporting agricultural workers would not raise the price of food.
Experts say it would. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Experts say it would. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
December 12, 2024 at 2:15 PM
Trump says deporting agricultural workers would not raise the price of food.
Experts say it would. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Experts say it would. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Great to see my story with @tedhesson.bsky.social about the farm sector and mass deportation featured on @wagnertonight.bsky.social.
Nearly half of the US’s 2 million farmworkers lack legal status, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers. Farm groups want them spared from deportation.
Nearly half of the US’s 2 million farmworkers lack legal status, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers. Farm groups want them spared from deportation.
November 27, 2024 at 3:58 PM
Great to see my story with @tedhesson.bsky.social about the farm sector and mass deportation featured on @wagnertonight.bsky.social.
Nearly half of the US’s 2 million farmworkers lack legal status, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers. Farm groups want them spared from deportation.
Nearly half of the US’s 2 million farmworkers lack legal status, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers. Farm groups want them spared from deportation.
Rhody hopes you’re having as nice a Sunday as she is (play date, ate dirt, choked on grass, nap)
November 24, 2024 at 8:31 PM
Rhody hopes you’re having as nice a Sunday as she is (play date, ate dirt, choked on grass, nap)
hello 🦋! meet Rhody!
November 20, 2024 at 4:03 PM
hello 🦋! meet Rhody!