The House Agriculture Committee will vote next week on a bill that would extend a popular ag disaster program, WHIP+, for two years. Lawmakers have been working on revisions to the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus, which provided assistance to producers for losses in 2018 and 2019.

Supporters of the Growing Climate Solutions Act are signing up new co-sponsors for the Senate-passed legislation in hopes of getting the House to take up the bill.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow says she’s “very optimistic” that substantial new funding for farm bill conservation programs will be included in the $3.5 trillion spending agreement that Democrats have announced. Stabenow has been seeking $50 billion in new conservation funding to promote climate-friendly farming practices.

Farm groups are worried a UN initiative to reshape food production could result in recommendations that harm U.S. trade and deter the use of technology globally. But USDA tells Agri-Pulse the Biden administration will be emphasizing technology and research in its contributions to the UN Food System Summit.

Republican members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are calling on the Biden administration to provide analysis and other documentation to back up the recent decision to replace the Trump-era rule that narrowed the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act.

Some leading agriculture groups are urging lawmakers to reach a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure.

A broad array of national and state farm organizations is appealing to Congress and the Biden administration to provide $40 billion in new funding for climate-related and ag research infrastructure.

The White House is establishing a new task force on supply chain disruptions to provide a “whole-of-government” response to near-term challenges. The task force will be led by the secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Transportation.

The Biden administration is testing an idea for promoting cover crop adoption that has proven popular in some states - offering farmers a subsidy on their crop insurance premiums.

A survey of producer sentiment in May reveals the lowest overall reading since September 2020 and declines in several areas, however, producers expect farmland values to rise over the next five years.