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The huge budget reconciliation bill that Democrats are trying to agree on would reshape a large section of the farm bill ahead of schedule, angering farm-state Republicans who fear it will be difficult to alter the dramatically increased spending allocations for conservation programs.

Partially motivated by funding concerns, two prominent hemp-growing states recently decided to let the U.S. Department of Agriculture regulate hemp within their borders, and others are still in the process of deciding whether to hand over authority to USDA as the pilot programs authorized under the 2014 farm bill expire at the end of this year.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture set policy for the coming year at a recent gathering, where the organization put a priority on the flow of ag goods in the U.S. and overseas.

An environmentally concerned fashion company and a fifth-generation rancher are the opposite end points on a short line that connects a luxury brand with sustainable agriculture.

Congressional Democrats have agreed on conservation and debt relief provisions that would immediately ramp up climate-focused conservation spending, including direct payments for cover crops, while also paying off loans for at-risk USDA borrowers.

Congressional Democrats are staring at a possible government shutdown this week even as they try to bridge warring factions that threaten passage of a bipartisan infrastructure and the bigger Build Back Better spending package.

USDA is putting $75 million into 15 projects around the country that are led by private organizations or state governments and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide other environmental benefits.

The Agriculture Department is seeking members for an advisory panel on equity as it attempts to address long-standing barriers minorities have faced in accessing federal farm programs.

Members of the House Agriculture Committee on both sides of the aisle raised concerns Thursday that many farmers will be left out of emerging carbon markets, and the panel was sharply divided over whether the Agriculture Department should be involved in regulating them.

Agri-Pulse obtained a summary of the long-awaited $28 billion conservation plan that Democrats are circulating on Capitol Hill.