Robert Bonnie, who has made extensive recommendations for using USDA to address climate change, will advise the department on climate policy in the new administration, and Obama administration veteran Katharine Ferguson has been named USDA's chief of staff.

Providing some parting advice on climate policy, House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson said he was introducing legislation that would require the Agriculture Department to take 50 million acres of cropland out of production through the Conservation Reserve Program.

A nationwide cap and trade program hasn’t been on the legislative horizon since the idea died in Congress in 2010, but government and private market developers are counting on there being a robust demand for carbon offsets from a host of corporations, including energy companies, airlines and even major food companies, that need to offset their emissions.

President-elect Joe Biden’s commitment to addressing climate change and the food and ag industry’s progress in coalescing on ag carbon proposals are increasing the chances that farmers could see new income streams developing through private markets and USDA programs.

Leading farm groups united with two major environmental groups to release on Tuesday more than 40 policy proposals aimed at helping farmers benefit economically from reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions while helping growers become more resilient amid climate change.

Now that a COVID-19 vaccine could be on the horizon, the food and restaurant industry is appealing to the government to prioritize inoculating their workers.

Robert Bonnie, who oversaw USDA natural resource programs during the Obama administration, is leading the department’s transition effort for President-elect Joe Biden, while several EPA alumni are assisting with setting up the new administration’s operations at that agency.

The ongoing debate over climate change is complicating the search for solutions over how to prevent massive wildfires that continue to ravage many rural areas across the west.