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The Agriculture Department's "one farmer, one file" initiative envisions new ways to report crop acreage and develop conservation plans, and a wholesale overhaul of the department's IT infrastructure, Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce told Agri-Pulse Wednesday.

Small and mid-sized farmers could reap $5.6 billion in additional revenue a year if Food is Medicine programs were large enough to reach all the Americans who need them, a new report from the Rockefeller Foundation says.

Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman is vowing to keep working with fellow panel members to get more financial aid to struggling farmers. Boozman acknowledged at a hearing Tuesday on finding new ag markets, “If you're putting something in the ground, you're probably losing money,” Boozman said in opening remarks at a hearing Tuesday on domestic ag markets.

Food prices for consumers ticked up in February, as a 1.4% increase in the cost of fruits and vegetables helped drive an overall 0.4% hike in the cost of groceries, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.

The California Retailers Association made staff promotions for Sarah Pollo Moo and Ryan Allain. Alexa Fox, who worked for Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., for the past nearly 10 years, joined Monument Advocacy as vice president on the food and agriculture team. Kristin Heidelbach is now vice president of government and public affairs at cannabis retail company, Embarc. Jenica Maldonado, a labor and employment attorney in California, rejoined Hanson Bridgett LLP as a partner in the employer services section. Longtime Sierra Club leader Michael Brune launched a climate change-focused investment and philanthropy fund called Clean Break. Audra Weeks, who was deputy chief of staff for policy at the Agriculture Department, departed USDA.

GOP Senate Ag Committee lawmakers are considering attaching additional support for U.S. ag producers to a future supplemental funding package to give the Pentagon more money for its Iran operations.