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**At the recent Cattle Industry Convention, USDA provided an update on the upcoming disaster assistance for ag producers impacted by weather-related disasters in 2020 and 21.

USDA intends to streamline the process for producers, and plans to distribute at least half the available $750 million by the end of March.

The program to assist crop producers will follow a process similar to that of the livestock assistance with the first phase of implementation this spring.

**The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is upset with a court settlement reached by JBS as part of a class-action lawsuit against the four biggest meatpackers in the U.S.

DTN says the court case and the $52.5 million settlement involves price-fixing and the four meatpackers constraining the fed cattle supply.

The NCBA wants more transparency from the Justice Department AND to find out what happened to the industry’s demands for a federal investigation into beef markets going back to 2019.

**U.S. Wheat Associates says wheat prices since late December have bounced up and down so far in the new year.

The ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine is a big factor adding uncertainty and volatility to the wheat market.

Both countries are major grain exporters, and the market knows that any disruption there could quickly impact supply.

Another factor is volatile commercial futures.

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