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More than $90 billion in agriculture spending, including a 50% increase in conservation program funding, is at stake as congressional Democrats wrangle over how to pare back their $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill to woo critical moderate votes.

Whether it's backlogs at ports delaying the arrival of containers from China, congestion at railroad hubs, or slowdowns at American manufacturing plants, farmers and ranchers are seeing rising prices and mounting delays for machinery, spare parts, packaging material, inputs and other supplies they need to bring in their crops and market their commodities.

Scientists who study the danger to humans and food production from zoonotic diseases, those that can jump from animals to humans, say there are ways to prevent the next global pandemic at a fraction of the cost of ending a massive outbreak.

Farmers and food companies are under pressure from their customers and federal officials to expand the use of digital tracking methods as a way to curb foodborne illness outbreaks and document that the products were grown with sustainable practices. Farm groups, however, are concerned about the privacy of the data that is being generated.

Policies preventing Facebook users from selling animals and animal products on the platform have presented a challenge to livestock producers looking for ways to market their products to consumers.

Tractor and combine sales had a strong month in September, posting year-over-year gains across many of the categories tracked by a monthly report maintained by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

The Department of Agriculture will require all federal employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by November 22, except those who are “legally entitled to a reasonable or religious accommodation,” according to a workplace safety plan outlining the department's pandemic response.

The federal government is investing $146 million in sustainable agriculture research across the country. USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture has announced 15 grants, most totaling $10 million over five years.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences announced Monday that the two groups signed a memorandum of understanding “with the goal of increasing minority involvement in agriculture.”

Rod Snyder has been picked to be the Environmental Protection Agency’s new agriculture adviser, and former Rep. Xochitl Torres Small has been confirmed by the Senate to become the Agriculture Department’s undersecretary for rural development.