Donald Trump

Like other farm leaders, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says he's at a loss to explain why President-elect Donald Trump has waited so long to name his nominee for agriculture secretary. Trump "has met with numerous people," Grassley told reporters, so "you can't say he has ignored" the position although the long wait has inspired grumbling, and now rumors, in farm country.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt put "the brakes" on state pursuit of a water-pollution suit against poultry processors, said the New York Times in describing how Pruitt "will have the opportunity to engineer a radical shift" in federal policy if he is confirmed as EPA administrator.

With the Trump era dawning, "the most pressing work is to join forces with other progressive groups" to fight for social justice, say four leaders of the loosely aligned food movement in a commentary published by Civil Eats. "This means that important but parochial food issues, such as labeling of GMOs or the formulation of national nutrititional standards, are bound to be overshadowed as the larger fight for social justice becomes more urgent."

A source close to Ivanka Trump has told the press that the first daughter is interested in childhood nutrition, reports Politico. Some are hoping that Ivanka will influence her father, who took pains during his presidential campaign to show that he’s a burger and pizza guy.

A preliminary report conducted by the Department of the Interior says the office is considering whether to raise coal royalty rates on public lands and require compensation from coal companies for carbon emissions. Coal on public land accounts for 10 percent of total U.S. greenhouse emissions, says The Seattle Times.

The November general election stands as a dividing point between pessimism and optimism among farmers about the future of the agricultural economy, says a Purdue poll. The Ag Economy Barometer, produced monthly by Purdue, is now at its highest reading ever, 132, in a dramatic surge since October, when it was at its second-lowest mark, 92, since the survey began in October 2015.

The Obama administration has granted endangered-species protection to the rusty-patched bumblebee — the first bumblebee in the United States, and the first bee of any kind in the lower 48 states to get the designation, says The New York Times. Seven other bees are listed, but they are all from Hawaii.

A White House report submitted to Congress this week recommends that moderate funding go toward geoengineering in an effort to fight climate change, says The New York Times.

The government is giving away too many meals in the school-lunch program, according to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in a McClatchy story. An aspirant for U.S. agriculture secretary, Miller said he discussed with President-elect Donald Trump's team a plan to save "several billion dollars" by reforming the lunch program, which was created in 1946 "as a measure of national security, to safeguard the the health and well-being of the nation's children."

The EPA has saddled farmers and ranchers with "burdensome, unnecessary and, too often, unlawful federal regulations," said the American Farm Bureau Federation in calling for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to approve Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to lead the agency. "We desperately need an administrator who understands the challenges our farmers and ranchers face in producing safe, wholesome and affordable food for our nation and the world."