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American ag exporters have been finding it increasingly difficult to get their commodities into containers and onto ships as Chinese companies and international shippers monopolize ocean transportation, but lawmakers are hoping to alleviate the situation with new legislation.

New animal rights agendas in Western states are threatening to curtail livestock production there as animal rights groups latched onto an environmental platform that calls for cutting back or eliminating meat consumption altogether to help slow climate change.

Farmland values in parts of the U.S. are on the rise as commodity prices and government payments spur buyers in the Corn Belt while water access fuels the market in California's drought-stricken Central Valley.

Honey bee pollination services are worth between $250 million and $320 million annually, Economic Research Service said in a new report, which also valued the honey production market at about $330 million per year.

CME Group is launching a new futures contract Aug. 1 that will be tied to the value of nature-based carbon credits, including those generated from agriculture.

The beef industry will face scrutiny this week from senators who are under pressure to curb the pricing power of big meatpackers, while the full Senate is nearing a vote on a bill to accelerate the development of ag carbon markets.

The White House unveiled a new interactive broadband mapping tool Thursday showing the majority of rural America is in need of access to high-speed internet above 25 megabits per second download speeds and 3 megabits per second upload speeds.

Agriculture and farmworker groups met with key senators and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to push for Senate action on ag labor reform.

Frustrations are rising over an apparent shift away from dairy digesters and biomass plants for the next update to the Climate Change Scoping Plan.

The drought is the next disaster to add further financial uncertainty for the growers shouldering the fees.