The election as well as lawmaker retirements have shaken up leadership roles on key House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction over agriculture and food, which could force Capitol Hill legislators to forge new friendships.

President Donald Trump famously tweeted that trade wars “are good and easy to win.” It was a brash statement, but emblematic of his first term in which he either threatened or hit trade partners like China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Canada and the European Union with tariffs.

Collin Peterson, facing the toughest re-election race of his career, is banking on voters not wanting to lose his clout and experience, but the House Agriculture Committee chairman is up against both a well-funded GOP challenger and President Donald Trump, whose campaign is "all in" for winning Minnesota.

Brazil’s tariff rate quota that allows 198 million gallons of U.S. ethanol into the country duty-free expires today, adding pressure to negotiators who are under fire from lobbyists and lawmakers in both countries to get better deals for their farmers.