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A major fight on the cost structure of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be waiting when senators return from a weeklong recess on June 1. A forthcoming farm bill proposal from the Senate Ag Committee won’t include controversial provisions on pesticide labeling and livestock welfare, a panel spokesperson tells Agri-Pulse.

The European Council and Parliament have hashed out an agreement on the path forward for a U.S.-European Union trade pact agreed to last year. Rep. Thomas Massie’s primary loss in Kentucky has Republicans, Democrats and independents recalibrating their political assumptions as the midterm campaign season moves into high gear. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is making the case at the United Nations to push Luke Lindberg’s candidacy to lead the World Food Program. The International Trade Commission is grappling with whether antidumping duties on Mexican tomatoes are still necessary to protect U.S. industry.

Georgia Congressman Austin Scott is positioning himself to become the next Republican leader of the House Agriculture Committee, arguing that his ties to the Trump administration, vision for enhancing farm profitability, and focus on protecting American agriculture from foreign adversaries make him the right leader to guide the panel through the prolonged downturn in the ag economy.

House Ways and Means Committee Democrats are urging the administration to tone down the rhetoric heading into discussions with Canada and Mexico on the future of a North American trade deal. 

Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Aubrey Bettencourt has resigned from the agency, according to a letter sent to staff and obtained by Agri-Pulse. 

Details of what President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to around agricultural market access continue to trickle out. 

Leaders of the House and Senate Ag committees and GOP leadership have called for $15-$20 billion in farm aid, but details remain unclear. 

Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., expresses concerns with the House-passed E15 bill. 

The House has passed E15 legislation by a vote of 218-203. The bill now faces major challenges in the Senate.