A bipartisan farm bill that would protect crop insurance and commodity programs as well as nutrition assistance from cuts passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin, 86-11, clearing the way for negotiations to begin next month with the House. 

Republican leaders desperate to push through a partisan farm bill through the House that overhauls the food stamp program are heading off attempts to cut crop insurance or tighten commodity payment limits.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered a halt to annual payments from the National Pork Board to the National Pork Producers Council for trademarks including “The Other White Meat.”