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More Senate confirmation hearings are on tap today. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head EPA, former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, will appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, selected to be interior secretary, will testify before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. 

In his confirmation hearing Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio discussed trade frictions with Mexico, the U.S.-China strategic rivalry and the president-elect's concerns over Chinese actions around the Panama Canal. 

Beijing recently approved a tranche of new gene-edited and genetically modified crop varieties and said it will accelerate breeding to boost yields – the latest chapter in a long-running drive for greater food self-sufficiency. 

The Biden administration is putting the finishing touches on its regulatory agenda ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. USDA is finalizing a rule barring poultry integrators from paying producers reduced rates in tournament ranking systems. The rule, being announced today, still allows for competitive bonuses.

Today could be a big day for the biofuel industry. The Treasury Department is expected to release highly anticipated interim guidance for the valuable new clean fuel tax credit known as 45Z, industry sources say.

East and Gulf Coast dockworkers have reached an agreement on a new six-year contract, ending a long-running labor dispute and avoiding a port strike set for next week.

Dockworkers and their employers announced Wednesday evening that they have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract, averting a strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to meet with more senators this week, including Republican and Democratic Senate Agriculture Committee members.

Tax and spending cuts are at the top of the to-do list for congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump. But there are a broad array of other issues in play that are critical to food and agriculture, from farm bill and the next dietary guidelines to regulations for pesticides and gene-edited crops, and the future of the Biden administration's climate policies.

Companies serving the U.S. agriculture sector are bracing for trade frictions in early 2025 by frontloading imports and diverting shipments to ease the impacts of a possible port strike and tariff hikes.