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House and Senate Ag Committee Republicans are urging the Food and Agricultural Climate Alliance to join them in calling on Democrats to hold public hearings ahead of considering ag spending in the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. Committee Chairman David Scott, D-Ga., has announced a business meeting for Friday to consider the reconciliation package.

Fallen structures, electrical wires and damaged barges are still clogging the lower Mississippi River, but Louisiana Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says he expects the main artery for U.S. ag exports to be at least partially open for traffic in five days or less.

Despite an expected increase in net cash farm income this year, median total farm household income is projected to drop to $80,314 for 2020 and $79,909 in 2021, according to the Department of Agriculture.

While work continues to find nominees for some vacant high-level positions, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says it’s just as important to fill “worker bee” positions throughout the entire department.

The Department of Agriculture is in touch with Capitol Hill as Democratic leaders work to craft legislation that has the potential to funnel more money into the farm bill and expand the number of producers who could receive funding and assistance for government conservation programs.

A top member of the House Ag Committee and one of the more moderate Democrats in the chamber says she doesn’t expect $3.5 trillion to be the final figure for a reconciliation bill currently under consideration.

As the country, including the food and agriculture sector, continues to grapple with racial injustices brought into focus in 2020, the historically Black land-grant colleges and universities are gaining attention.

Many of the top agricultural counties in the United States are consistently losing population, except in those with processing facilities, according to an Agri-Pulse analysis of 2020 census data. 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service is investing up to $50 million nationally in cooperative agreements to support historically underserved farmers and ranchers with climate-smart agriculture and forestry projects.