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Restaurants across the country are working hard to get back to normal, farmers have lost valuable food service markets and a growing number of unemployed workers struggle to purchase food because of COVID-19.

Peanut butter makers are churning out as much product as they can and they can’t do it fast enough to meet the unprecedented demand from families who are desperate to keep their pantries stocked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, lost his re-election bid in one of the nation’s most important agricultural districts when he was defeated Tuesday by Randy Feenstra, who argued that the incumbent had lost critical clout when he was stripped of seats on the Agriculture and Judiciary committees.

We’re getting some new clarity in congressional races that are critical to agriculture policy. The Republican field in the Kansas race to succeed Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts is now set. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to file for the race. The deadline was noon on Monday.

China is shunning U.S. soybeans and pork – at least temporarily – in retaliation to U.S. involvement in China’s treatment of Hong Kong, but expectations are that Chinese state buyers won’t be able to shut off U.S. trade for much longer.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is on the road again today to promote USDA’s $3 billion Farmers to Families Food Box program. Today, he’s in his home state of Georgia for an event delivering food at a non-profit in Atlanta.

The Senate returns to action this month under pressure to pass another major coronavirus relief package, but a more immediate priority for GOP leaders will be to agree on fixes to the Paycheck Protection Program, a lifeline to many small businesses and farms.

Ag trade experts are working to assess how President Donald Trump's call for an end to preferential trade treatment for Hong Kong will impact American ag exports there, but say there appears to be no direct impact on the "phase one" trade deal with China.

A longtime analyst of U.S.-Cuba relations says Joe Biden would have a harder time reversing course with Havana on trade policy due in part to the Cuban regime’s support for the Venezuelan government.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the next big coronavirus relief bill, assuming there is one, would likely provide more funding for payments to farmers. But McConnell is clearly reluctant to include new spending for rural broadband or other infrastructure.