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More workers and a more diverse food system, including small and medium-sized meatpackers, are necessary for American agriculture to maintain resilience in the face of threats to the system, commenters told USDA as the department embarks on its effort to reimagine the country's agricultural supply chains.

The Supreme Court has denied a petition to review California’s Proposition 12, which prohibits the sale of meat products that do not conform with the state’s animal housing standards.

A hearing called to explore beef price transparency issues highlighted some possible changes, but senators also heard a good deal of defense for the current system.

A United Nations-led effort to jump-start progress on meeting global sustainability goals is raising fears among U.S. farm groups that it will lead to recommendations that denigrate U.S. farming practices and discourage meat consumption.

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.

The federal district court ruling that struck down the pork harvest facility line speed increase allowed under USDA’s New Swine Inspection System will lead to increased market concentration, according to the National Pork Producers Council.

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 Biden administration plans to re-issue tougher standards for livestock and poultry production that will end the egg industry’s practice of using porches to provide hens with access to the outdoors.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told senators Tuesday that his department is working on measures that will “significantly” increase U.S. meatpacking capacity, a top priority of producers who believe industry concentration is depressing livestock prices.