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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal critic of U.S. food systems and federal nutrition scientists, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and take on the "industrial food complex."

John Thune’s elevation to Senate Republican leader is being welcomed by many ag, biofuel and conservation groups. No Senate majority or minority leader has come to the job with a background in ag and biofuel policy as deep as the South Dakotan’s since, well, Thune unseated then-Democratic leader Tom Daschle in 2004.

Senate Republicans are slated to pick their new party leadership this morning in a closed-door, secret ballot election.  

The ag industry is watching to see how the Trump administration fulfills its pledge to deport millions of immigrant workers. Dairy farmers are especially concerned.

The Agriculture Department is moving to reverse a change to milk pricing that was made in the 2018 farm bill that was subsequently blamed for a drop in prices received by producers.

USDA lowered its forecasts for the soybean and corn harvests based on the latest conditions, but the cuts weren’t enough to raise the department’s price estimates for this year’s crops. The FAO Food Price Index hit 127.4 points last month, 2% above September and 5.5% above the level a year ago. 

Kip Tom, who leads President-elect Donald Trump’s ag coalition, says he expects the transition team to move much more quickly to fill cabinet positions. Whether Tom is going to be in it, perhaps as agriculture secretary, remains to be seen. He served as U.S. ambassador to the UN agriculture and food programs during the first Trump administration.

The speculation season has begun, with several names being floated for Agriculture Secretary in a new Trump administration. Leading the pack: Kip Tom, a former Ambassador to the United Nations, Indiana farmer and a leader of Trump’s ag coalition who celebrated Trump’s victory at Mar-a-Lago last night.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending several measures to reduce the risk of farmworkers being infected with bird flu as well as testing of poultry and dairy employees who may have been exposed to the H5N1 virus, even if they do not show symptoms of illness.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday he will play a significant role in the Trump administration, floating the idea that he would be a “health czar” operating out of the White House. He also indicated he wanted to use his role to push for adoption of regenerative ag practices.