The Agriculture Department is making dozens of additional fruits, vegetables and herbs eligible for payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and expanding benefits for some other commodities.

Senators are privately discussing agricultural provisions in the next major coronavirus relief bill, which Republican leaders hope to get passed by the August recess.

The Environmental Protection Agency must respond by Tuesday to an emergency motion filed by four groups seeking to enforce the Ninth Circuit’s court’s June 3 order vacating over-the-top dicamba registrations.

The Nutrition Coalition, which has been critical of the process used to produce the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, is calling for a delay in the release of the draft report, saying “one or more members” of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee have contacted the coalition to express concern about the quality of the science being used.

Packing plants shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic are mostly up and running once again, which is placing a new focus on testing and the availability of personal protective equipment to keep their doors open. 

House Democrats try to agree on the shape of the next major coronavirus relief bill, while farm groups lobby for a major new infusion of cash to offset the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue expressed confidence at a White House meeting Wednesday that the meat shortages that have forced supermarkets to limit purchases should ease as meatpacking plants fully reopen within the next 10 days.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says plants that have slowed operations or shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic need to develop a plan to bring their facilities back online.

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.