**The Waters of the U.S. Rule has been problematic for years and, according to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duval, their new cry to lawmakers is “clean water, clear rules.”

According to agweb.com, Duvall told the AFBF Convention crowd the fight over how EPA defines WOTUS continues, even though the Trump Administration has submitted a new, more clearly defined rule on what waters are, and are not.

The government shutdown has stalled publishing of that new rule.

**As the shutdown goes on, the effects continue to spread. According to Senator Pat Roberts or Kansas, of the four shutdowns he’s been through, none have worked to achieve their goals.

In the current government shutdown, he tells agweb.com Congress is working hard to implement portions of the farm bill that can be passed while the government is closed and most USDA workers are out of the office.

Hoping for a quick solution, Roberts says the primary responsibility of Congress is to enhance and protect national security.

**The trade war between the U.S. and China doesn’t mean the Chinese are halting all imports of dairy products.

According to milkbusiness.com, year-to-date milk equivalent imports are up 9% while imports in November were up 13.2%, higher than the record in November 2013.

Unfortunately, the U.S. isn’t reaping the benefits with U.S. shares of the Chinese dairy import market dwindling since 2016 with other countries filling the void.

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