John A. Schnittker, under secretary of agriculture under former President Lyndon B. Johnson and later an influential Washington farm policy consultant, died September 13 at his home near Santa Ynez, California, of heart failure. He was 95.

The U.S. will be losing one of its staunchest advocates in China for U.S. beef, ethanol and other farm goods in early October. That’s when Ambassador Terry Branstad says he is stepping down from being the top U.S. representative in Beijing.

District of Columbia-area lawmakers are urging USDA to "suspend its dangerous and insufficient plans to reopen its offices" until it addresses employees’ safety concerns about COVID-19.