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Peter Navarro will return to the White House in President-elect Donald Trump’s second term as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Trump announced on Wednesday.

Democrats on the House Ag Committee are starting to line up behind the candidates seeking to be the panel’s ranking member. Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., and Jim Costa, D-Calif., are challenging Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., for the minority’s top spot.

Year after year of drought and intense heat that have cooked crops in Texas also have fueled a clash between USDA and the crop insurance industry that has spilled over into discussions of a new farm bill.

Biofuel groups are expressed increasing concern about the lack of guidance from the Treasury Department for a clean fuel tax credit that is set to take effect Jan. 1, saying investment has already slowed due to the uncertainty.

A $42 billion federal program to provide “internet for all” hit a milestone recently. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said Nov. 19 it had approved plans from all 56 states and territories outlining how they will use their grant money to ensure no resident is without high-speed internet. The program, however, continues a target of criticism.

The European Union is preparing a list of American goods to hit with retaliatory tariffs after the U.S failed to comply with a World Trade Organization dispute panel regarding its tariffs on olives from Spain -- a case that puts the WTO at odds with U.S. law and the ways the country protects its agriculture producers. 

The federal government and states have made progress in their efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, particularly when it comes to reducing sediment loads in the watershed. But nitrogen and phosphorus reduction goals are still below goals set for the end of 2025, a likely topic of discussion for when officials meet later this month to discuss the bay’s future.

The Farm Service Agency has so far distributed roughly $2.3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding for distressed borrowers with farm loans, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

The world’s largest commodity trader plans to slash about 8,000 of its global 164,000-person workforce as part of a sweeping effort to cut costs and restructure. 

Farmer sentiment improved in November, with some producers feeling better about their finances in 2025 and more optimistic that they’ll get relief from regulations, according to the latest Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.