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A bipartisan group of senators negotiating a $908 billion coronavirus relief package is circulating a summary of the plan that allocates $13 billion for the agriculture sector. The document was obtained by Agri-Pulse.

Joe Biden's decision to nominate Tom Vilsack to run the Agriculture Department for a second time will give Biden a policy veteran who shares his passion for addressing climate change and already has relationships with critical lawmakers and farm groups.

The next chairman of the House Agriculture Committee tells Agri-Pulse that climate policy will be a top priority for the panel in the next Congress.

The Georgia Democrat and Pennsylvania Republican poised to take the reins of the House Agriculture Committee next year have shared priorities, but different timelines and approaches.

The recent boom in commodity prices is likely to continue through 2021 and into 2022, with supplies historically low worldwide at the same time Chinese demand for animal feed is growing and a worsening drought grips Brazil and Argentina, according to a top ag economist.

Like most dairy producers in late 2019, Ryan Klussendorf of Medford, Wis., was optimistic about 2020 dairy prices and he did not sign up for USDA’s Dairy Margin Coverage program. But after seeing the extreme volatility of this year, he’s not taking any chances for 2021 and said other producers shouldn’t either.

U.S. farmers have watched for years as Brazil has become an agricultural powerhouse by converting its vast rainforests and savanna into cropland, with plans to expand even more over the coming decade. Now, American producers are hoping the progress they are making on sustainability will pay off in a competitive advantage for U.S. ag exports in the lucrative European and Asian markets. This is the fifth and final installment of our series,“Agriculture’s sustainable future: Feeding more while using less.”  Part Four looked at the potential for technological innovations to make a significant impact on U.S. agriculture's environmental footprint.

A handful of ag groups have been pushing the federal government to get farm and food employees right behind health care workers and vulnerable populations in the COVID-19 vaccine distribution line. Now, that request has also been filtered to the nation’s 50 governors.

Martha Scott Poindexter will be returning to the Senate Agriculture Committee as staff director for GOP Sen. John Boozman, according to sources close to the Arkansas senator.