Bill Tomson

We have some more clarity on the Senate GOP plan for helping farmers cope with the coronavirus, although Republicans were unable to roll out their full bill on Thursday as originally planned.

The House takes up legislation today to fund USDA, FDA and other agencies for fiscal 2021, and Democrats will use the debate to target President Donald Trump’s effort to address the coronavirus-related slowdowns in meatpacking.

Democrats and Republicans are a long way yet from agreeing on a new coronavirus relief package. But a member of the Senate GOP leadership, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, tells Agri-Pulse the Republican proposal will include $20 billion in new spending authority for USDA under its Commodity Credit Corp. account.

The U.S. and China are set to go head to head at the World Trade Organization in Geneva next week in a brewing battle over Chinese wheat and rice subsidies, and neither side is showing any sign of backing down.

Just eight months ago, U.S. chicken farmers were celebrating the reopening of the Chinese market. Now they’re cheering the dizzying pace of sales that have pushed China to the number-one position in April and May in foreign markets, and the trade shows no sign of slowing down.

Senate Republicans should start learning more about their leadership’s proposed new coronavirus relief package, which is expected to total about $1 trillion.

The House and Senate return to Washington this week with a loaded agenda before the annual August recess, including securing another relief package for the nation’s lingering fight against the coronavirus.

China is continuing its rapid pace of new and old crop purchases, as shown in daily and weekly trade reports released Thursday by USDA.