Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack opened up the daily press briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at the White House to talk about the Biden administration’s work to address rising meat prices at grocery stores. (DTN)

After a lengthy business meeting on Friday, the House Agriculture Committee met yesterday to continued marking up its portion of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. The proposal includes billions of dollars for USDA to manage national forests, increase rural development, upgrade biofuel infrastructure and conduct climate research. (Politico)

A pumpkin patch in the pumpkin capital of the world? That’s right, Roth Pumpkin Patch is ready for visitors to pick their own pumpkins and have some fall family fun. (WMBD)

Millions of Afghans could run out of food before the arrival of winter and one million children are at risk of starvation and death if their immediate needs are not met, top United Nations officials warned on Monday, putting the country’s plight into stark relief. (New York Times)  

A favorable growing season and government policies that encourage crop rotations will result in a record corn crop in China, estimated the USDA. China is second to the United States as a corn producer and will be the world’s largest corn importer for the second year in a row, according to the monthly World Agricultural Production report. (Successful Farming)

U.S. grain exports slumped to their lowest level in years last week as shippers struggled to restart loading operations along the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida flooded and damaged grain terminals and knocked out power across the region, preliminary data showed on Monday. (Reuters)