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The health of the Chesapeake Bay took center stage at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Wednesday, as a Maryland senator threatened legal action to ensure Pennsylvania meets its goals under the federal-state plan to clean up the estuary.

Trade remains the top concern for American agriculture heading into 2020, with looming uncertainty about whether the Chinese will make promised increases in commodity purchases, and whether President Donald Trump will provide another round of trade assistance to U.S. producers. 

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is headed for easy approval on the Senate floor, but the uncertainty surrounding the impeachment process could mean farmers and ranchers will have to wait several more weeks for that final congressional vote.

It remains unclear if recent Chinese moves will translate into major gains for the biotech and farming sectors there and in the U.S.

Monsanto is receiving help fighting a multimillion-dollar verdict awarded for exposure to its flagship herbicide, Roundup, from an unusual source: the federal government.

Growers paid over $10 billion to insure almost 380 million acres in 2019. By year-end, crop insurance companies paid out almost $7.6 billion to cover losses and the numbers are expected to grow as all claims are finalized.

How about input prices linked to outcomes? Supporters say it could be another tool for farmers to offset financial risk at a time when weather, trade, and commodity price uncertainty are plaguing the market.

Supporters and detractors of atrazine are clashing over EPA’s recently proposed interim registration decision, which would impose new label language to reduce spray drift but also would increase the concentration of the herbicide allowed in watersheds before corrective action is required.

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday easily approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement with a bipartisan 25-to-3 vote, potentially setting the trade pact up for a speedy floor vote.

Georgia’s newest member of the Senate, Kelly Loeffler, will have a spot on the Senate Agriculture Committee, taking the place of Georgia Sen. David Perdue, who shifted to another panel.