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The Biden administration’s plans to invest more than $1 billion in the meat sector rolled out on Monday can be expected to invest in several different types of facilities and include provisions to keep subsidized facilities from falling into the hands of major meatpackers.

President Joe Biden is once again taking aim at the nation’s largest meat and poultry processors, vowing to boost competition for America’s farmers and ranchers and reduce prices for consumers.

The Senate returns to work this week with key elements of President Joe Biden’s climate agenda in peril, while the Supreme Court decides whether to hear several cases important to agriculture, including the latest challenge to California’s Proposition 12 standards for hog and poultry production.

Agri-Pulse readers kept a keen eye on a whole host of developments throughout the year, but none more so than the fresh faces of a new administration and Capitol Hill’s attempts to pass legislation to inject new funds into farm country.

A minor oilseed may be poised to take on a larger role as climate-smart policies emphasize low carbon fuels and the soil health benefits of cover crops. Camelina is seen by some as a cover crop that recoups a farmer’s investment because it can be harvested instead of plowed under.

Massachusetts is delaying implementation of new animal welfare standards until the summer while reworking and expanding the requirements for laying hens.

Conservation groups and the Biden administration  are betting big that the promise of direct payments to farmers will supercharge their interest in cover crops, a practice relatively few have tried despite documented benefits to soil health, greenhouse emissions and water quality.

Some $80 billion in climate-related agriculture funding hangs in the balance as President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats try to save at least part of his $1.7 trillion Build Back Better spending package.

The National 4-H Council has completed the sale of its facility in suburban Washington, ending an era of one of the largest youth enrichment facilities in the nation.

The Department of Agriculture is distributing $1.5 billion to the nation’s school meal program operators to help them deal with supply chain challenges that are driving up costs.