In the early days and weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand at the nation’s food banks swelled. It’s gone down and up over the year, and in many places remains higher today than the baseline before the pandemic.

The USDA keeps a tight lid on the amount of foreign sugar that enters the U.S., and the department is keeping a close eye on whether it will need to allow more into the country if consumer demand increases as the COVID-19 pandemic loosens its grasp on Americans.

Many ag jobs got designated “essential” at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, masks and other safety precautions have become common in fields and packing houses. Food continues to move from the farm to the consumer. But impacts on the people making that happen have been significant.

A key Republican says the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill Democrats are pushing through the Senate will lead to automatic cuts in farm programs and other forms of federal spending. Sen. John Boozman, the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, is referring to the Congressional Budget Office’s determination that the legislation would trigger the budget sequestration process under the 2011 budget law.

An Agri-Pulse analysis shows that the Trump administration's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program payments were distributed more widely than traditional forms of government assistance although larger farms continue to receive the big share of the money.