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USDA is gearing up to start dispensing the first round of coronavirus relief payments to farmers, even as lawmakers struggle to agree on a Phase 4 stimulus bill that ag groups hope will provide additional funding for more aid.

House Democrats try to agree on the shape of the next major coronavirus relief bill, while farm groups lobby for a major new infusion of cash to offset the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

Vice President Mike Pence says America's food supply chain is strong as he commends grocery store workers and meatpacking employees for their work at a meeting with food supply chain executives, government officials, and ag leaders in Iowa.

The U.S. and China are making strong progress on implementing the “phase one” trade deal and both sides expect the pact will be successful despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vice President Mike Pence will be in Iowa today to meet with a group of food supply chain CEOs, agriculture leaders, and government officials.

The USDA on Thursday reported sales of 686,000 metric tons of corn to Chinese buyers, with 371,000 tons of it for delivery in the 2019-20 marketing year and the rest — 315,000 tons — in 2020-21.

The Trump administration is expressing confidence that the worst of the meatpacking disruptions is behind us. At a meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue predicted packing plants would be fully operational within 10 days. “I think we've turned the corner,” he said.

The U.S. exported record amounts of pork and posted very strong numbers for beef sales around the globe in March, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new USDA data compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says plants that have slowed operations or shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic need to develop a plan to bring their facilities back online.

The disruptions in U.S. meatpacking continue to ripple through supermarkets and now have reached Wendy’s, which once had one of the most famous retail slogans in America: “Where’s the beef?”