Bill Tomson

Congressional leaders spent Tuesday evening behind closed doors working on a sweeping year-end deal that would include a new coronavirus relief package as well as funding for the federal government for the fiscal 2021.

It’s only December and still months away from U.S. farmers going into the fields to plant next year’s soybean crop, but the Chinese are already buying it.

A coalition of a major farm groups is urging the incoming Biden administration to abandon the disruptive tariffs and trade wars that have been hallmarks of the Trump administration and instead chart a more stable course to increase access to international markets.

British supermarket giant Tesco has committed the equivalent of about $13 million to help protect the ecologically fragile grasslands of Brazil — known locally as the Cerrado — from destruction.

Time is running short for congressional leaders to announce a deal on a coronavirus relief package, but there continues to be some signs of progress.

Lawmakers now have until this Friday to reach agreement on a new coronavirus relief package and government-wide funding for fiscal 2021.

Under court order, USDA is reinstating the farm labor survey that has long been used to determine minimum wage rates for H-2A workers. It’s not clear yet how the action will affect 2021 wage rates.

President-elect Joe Biden has tapped a China expert to be his U.S. Trade Representative, reflecting the most pressing trade issue his administration will face on day one – the ongoing trade war with the Asian economic powerhouse.

The House has passed a new stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded through next week - and buy more time for negotiators to reach a deal on a new coronavirus relief package.

After months of complaints from U.S. dairy farmers, the Trump administration took the first step Wednesday in challenging Canada’s implementation of new tariff rate quotas. The two countries will now begin consultations under dispute rules laid out in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which could lead to the formation of an official dispute panel.