Brooke Rollins is sure to be confirmed by the Senate as Agriculture secretary in the new Trump administration, and she will start with a valuable asset — an ongoing relationship with the president, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue brings with him a legacy of ethics violations, climate denialism, and deregulation, all of which could threaten the future of the Department of Agriculture, argues a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. The report, out today, gathers information from Perdue’s past political career and his current administrative and policy choices to analyze whether and how the Secretary’s tenure could have a long-lasting negative affect on agricultural research and policy.

An estimated 13 million children in 25 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will receive benefits through the summer EBT program, said the Agriculture Department on Monday. Families of eligible children typically receive $391 per child for the summer.

Although in the latest Pulse survey from the Census Bureau, fewer people said they didn't have enough food to eat in the past week, hardship rates remain very high, said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on Wednesday.

Companion bills in the Senate and House would allow the hemp derivative cannabidiol, also known as CBD, to be used in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages, the bills’ four sponsors said on Thursday.

Pointing to a lack of scientific research, the FDA said on Thursday that it would not consider rulemaking for the use of cannabidiol products as dietary or food supplements or in animal feed. Instead, said principal deputy commissioner Janet Woodcock, the FDA wants to work with Congress on “a new regulatory pathway” for CBD.

The nation’s first soda tax, Berkeley, California’s one-cent-per-ounce levy, hasn’t impacted retail businesses, but it has reduced soda purchases by 9.6 percent, says a new study by the University of North Carolina.

The grassroots can beat Big Soda, says Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in an interview about the City Council vote during the summer to put a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on soda and sugary beverages. "Don't be afraid of Big Soda. They are not that tough," Kenney told Vox.

A special review panel of U.S. officials "has concluded there are no unresolved national security concerns" in the proposed purchase by German chemical giant Bayer of St. Louis-based Monsanto for $66 billion. "Bayer and Monsanto will continue to cooperate with the authorities in order to complete the transaction in early 2018," said a terse joint statement by the companies.

A Trump administration appointee at EPA has taken an influential role in federal assessment of the risk posed by hazardous chemicals, "making it more aligned with the industry's wishes," reports the New York Times. The new approach includes the EPA decision in March to allow continued agriculture use of chlorpyrifos, an insecticide criticized as a risk to children and farmworkers.

The administrative arm of the European Union approved the merger of Dow and DuPont based on their promises to divest some assets, says Deutsche Welle. It was the first decision on a wave of proposed consolidations that would reshape the seed and ag-chemical sector into a "big three," down from the six firms that now compete.

Tyson Foods, one of the largest meatpackers in the world, cannot credibly say it produces “climate-smart” beef and should be stopped from making such marketing claims, said a lawsuit filed Wednesday under the District of Columbia’s consumer protection law.

The U.S. appetite for meat continues to grow. Ten years ago, Americans consumed an average of 200 pounds of meat per person annually. This year, it will be a record 227.6 pounds, thanks to larger pork and poultry supplies, before ebbing next year.

In tests conducted by USDA scientists, the H5N1 bird flu virus did not survive in hamburgers cooked to internal temperatures of 145 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday. “These results validate that [Food Safety and Inspection Service] recommended cooking temperatures are sufficient to kill H5N1 in meat,” it said.

Two senators from the Plains filed a resolution on Monday to overturn USDA approval of imports of chilled or frozen deboned beef from Paraguay. Sens. Jon Tester, Montana Democrat, and Mike Rounds, South Dakota Republican, said they were worried about the possible transmission of foot and mouth disease.

$100,000 NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences. The prize, to recognize "a mid-career scientist at a U.S. institution who has made contribution" to the fields, would join the $250,000 World Food Prize as a prestigious award for work in food and agriculture.

David Hodson, senior scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), sat down with FERN editor-in-chief Sam Fromartz in Washington to discuss the re-emergence of rust disease, a virulent fungal pathogen that attacks wheat plants and causes devastating crop losses, especially in poorer countries.

President Obama tapped Pamela Anderson, of the Gates Foundation, and Gebisa Ejeta, the 2009 winner of the World Food Prize, to serve on the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.

The Gates Foundation is to announce its goals for the next 15 years. "Among them: financing programs to help Africa feed itself," says the New York Times.

Texas lost nearly two livestock auction markets a year over the past four decades, according to a study by Texas A&M economists.

"It sounds like the plot of a cheesy 1950s sci-fi movie," says Delta Farm Press in a story about the rapid spread of the sugarcane aphid, which can cause huge losses in sorghum yields.

Politico writes about the internecine scuffles among the nation's land grant universities and their think tanks for federal money to carry out analytical work.

The Biden administration could "impose a significant financial burden" on farm families with its proposal for stricter application of capital gains taxes, said House Agriculture chairman David Scott on Wednesday. Scott also said any increase in estate taxes "for those taking over farmland is untenable."

Thirteen House Democrats representing farm districts asked party leaders on Thursday to exempt farmers from President Biden's proposal to apply the capital gains tax more stringently. Iowa Rep. Cindy Axne, one of the organizers of the letter, said "a significant number of Democrats" support the farmer exemption.

The FAO index of global commodity prices rose 1.3 percent during July, its second increase since April, reflecting the termination of the Black Sea grain initiative and India's restrictions on rice exports. The increases punctuated a longer-term decline in commodity prices in the past year.

Grocery prices will rise 6.6 percent this year, with lower beef and pork prices helping to constrain the inflation rate after last year’s 11.4 percent rise, said USDA economists. At the start of the year, the USDA forecast an 8.6 percent increase in prices, but it has lowered its estimate for two months in a row.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine fueled a sharp rise in food prices last winter, but prices have fallen for 10 straight months, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine drove food prices to record levels during 2022 and the Food Price Index remains elevated after a nine-month decline, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.