Former House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson is gearing up to join the upcoming congressional debate about climate and farm policy. Peterson tells Agri-Pulse he’s talking to several firms about consulting roles, but he indicated he’s not in a rush to sign up.

An end is finally in sight in the wait for a new agriculture secretary. The Senate has scheduled action for Feb. 23 on Tom Vilsack's nomination to return for a second stint at the head of USDA.

There are new signs of division on the Senate Agriculture Committee when it comes to climate change. The committee’s top Republican, John Boozman, told members of the National Cotton Council Thursday that funding to address climate change could come out of existing farm bill programs.

The new chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Georgia Rep. David Scott, passed his first test as Democrats stuck together Wednesday night to advance their piece of a sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

The House Agriculture Committee will debate a $16 billion stimulus measure that includes a substantial down payment on Democrats’ promise to address racial justice issues. The committee’s draft bill, which will be part of a broader $1.9 trillion stimulus package, would provide sweeping debt relief to minority farmers on USDA loans.

The ag industry is paying more attention to a group of highly persistent chemicals known as PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have been found in drinking water and groundwater throughout the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency has extended until March 7 the comment period on its proposed interim registration decision and risk assessments for chlorpyrifos, an insecticide that environmental and farmworker groups have been trying to ban for more than a decade.

House committees begin voting starting today on the first provisions in the massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package President Joe Biden is pushing to pass. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to approve its portion of the package.

Government farm payments are still likely to fall significantly this year, but the cliff won’t be quite as stiff as it once looked like it would be.