The coronavirus pandemic was top of mind for nearly every aspect of the global economy in 2020, and farm policy stakeholders were keeping a close eye on Agri-Pulse’s coverage of the virus and legislative efforts to lessen its blow throughout the year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the next big coronavirus relief bill, assuming there is one, would likely provide more funding for payments to farmers. But McConnell is clearly reluctant to include new spending for rural broadband or other infrastructure.

USDA is making $1 billion in loan guarantees available “to help rural businesses meet their working capital needs during the coronavirus pandemic,” the department said Thursday.

It looks like farm groups will largely stay on the sidelines as the House moves toward a vote on Democrats’ giant coronavirus relief bill, even though it would authorize $16.5 billion more in direct farm payments plus other aid to producers.

House Democrats released a massive new coronavirus relief bill that would provide $16.5 billion in additional direct payments to farmers and authorize USDA to compensate producers who have to dispose of livestock and poultry that can’t be sold because of processing disruptions.

Not implementing SGMA has costs, too * Ag groups rush appeals for Phase 4 * New Deal program makes a comeback

The full Senate returns to Washington for the first time since March, setting the stage for a partisan battle over the next big coronavirus aid bill and a growing list of requests from agriculture and other sectors for relief.

A backed-up food supply chain and a bottlenecked legislative process await senators as they return to Washington next week, and the desires for the next round of coronavirus assistance are already piling up.