Negotiations on a major new coronavirus relief package remain alive, but with the election less than two weeks away, Senate Republicans see little chance of passing a deal before a lame duck session in November or December at the earliest.

Recent court arguments about biofuels policy underscored a battle often fought in courtrooms: weighing semantics against substance.

For the second straight year, Democrats threatened but ultimately backed down from blocking Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue from getting a fresh pot of money to make payments to farmers.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden both promise to increase usage of biofuels, but Trump is focused on increasing the market for conventional ethanol while Biden is prioritizing next-generation products that have been slow to develop so far.

Joe Biden’s farm policy relies heavily on ramping up conservation spending as a way to support farm programs. But former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tells Agri-Pulse that he thinks the Biden administration, working with Congress, could act quickly next year to shore up farm income, possibly through a new stimulus bill.