Northey and Fordyce to head west: Agriculture Undersecretary Bill Northey told reporters, “I’m likely to go back to Iowa,” and administrator Richard Fordyce said he expected to “go back to Missouri” with the end of the Trump administration on Jan 20. Another Trump appointee, Brandon Lipps, deputy undersecretary for nutrition, left USDA earlier this week. (FERN’s Ag Insider)
Undocumented workers won’t get vaccine: Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said undocumented workers at meat processing plants were not eligible for coronavirus vaccinations. (KNBN)
EPA filters science: As the Trump administration nears its end, the EPA adopted a regulation that restricts the types of studies its scientists can use in regulating pollution, downgrading the value of major epidemiological studies. (NPR)
Weaker protections for migratory birds: The Interior Department said it will finalize a rule on Wednesday that would not hold oil and gas companies legally responsible for killing migratory birds as long as it was unintended. (Roll Call)
Farm bankruptcies on the rise in Iowa: Joel Kurtenbach switched from dairy to beef cattle in pursuit of profits but sold his 700-acre farm in bankruptcy, one of the small but growing number of farmers who became insolvent because of depressed markets and the pandemic. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)