A group called Rural for Hillary was organized earlier this week during the Democratic National Convention to begin campaign efforts for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in rural America. While not formally affiliated with Clinton’s campaign, the group did hold a closed-door session with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack earlier this week, according to the Hagstrom Report. Organizers of the group are volunteers and include Pam Johnson, former president of the National Corn Growers Association. Other organizers include AgriBank’s vice president for government affairs, Vicki Hicks, and Trevor Dean, a former Clinton aide who also worked in the Department of Agriculture during President Bill Clinton’s administration.

A White House petition asking President Barack Obama to veto the GMO labeling bill reached 100,000 signatures recently, passing the threshold needed to get a formal response from the President. However, as Politico reports, the petition is almost certainly too little too late, as Obama has already said he intends to sign the bill. In the midst of the bill getting through Congress, the White House earlier this month said the President would sign the bill; however, there is no indication when he may do so. The House and Senate passed the compromise bill earlier this month. The legislations preempts state labeling laws, such as the Vermont law, and mandate’s GMO disclosure through on-package labeling or smart labels.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge has found that two members of the Missouri Clean Water Commission violated their duty to be impartial while considering a proposed large hog breeding operation in mid-Missouri.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Chairman Todd Parnell of Springfield and member Ashley McCarty of Novinger won’t be able to take part in discussions or votes on the Callaway Farrowing permit under Tuesday’s ruling.

Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green found that the two members sought information outside the legal record during a March 2015 tour of hog operations in Callaway County.

Green wrote that during the tour, Parnell asked questions comparing the farms being visited to the Callaway Farrowing operation. McCarty drove by the Callaway Farrowing property in her own vehicle.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he is not upset that Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did not choose him as her running mate and says he will do anything for the Clinton campaign. In an exclusive interview with The Hagstrom Report at the Democratic National Convention, Vilsack says he will be “happy to do whatever” the Clinton campaign asks. Vilsack was a finalist for Clinton’s vice presidential running before Clinton picked Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Vilsack calls Kaine a solid choice and that he moved on over the disappointment of not being picked rather quickly. Jumping on board the Clinton campaign as a cheerleader, Vilsack called the Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump, “not temperamentally fit to be president.” As for what role, if any, Vilsack may play in the Clinton Administration, should she be elected President, Vilsack responded: “my sole focus right now is that Secretary Clinton becomes President Clinton.”

Quality control and purchasing managers from three Venezuelan flour mills will visit North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Ohio starting this weekend. The trade mission seeks to educate the delegation from Venezuela about the value of working with the U.S. wheat supply chain, according to the U.S. Wheat Associates. Venezuela imports durum, high protein spring wheat and soft red winter wheat. However, current market conditions there have given durum wheat from Mexico a competitive advantage. U.S. wheat exports to Venezuela are not as strong as they once were, according to USW, in part because increased government intervention and limited access to U.S. dollars have forced millers there to make cost a primary buying decision. A spokesperson for U.S. Wheat Associates says the tour provides “first-hand experience will help increase their confidence in U.S. wheat.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking for other funding sources for the Operating Loan Program that helps farmers. The $2.65 billion allocated for the program has already run out, as requests for federal financial assistance grow amid the worst agricultural downturn in more than a decade. USDA is seeking additional funding to “help bridge the gap in farm operating loans as much as possible” until additional funds are available, according to Reuters. The Farm Service Agency last month suggested funding for this fiscal year would be depleted before the program restarts in October. Loans in the program are considered a “last resort” for farmers, but as the rural sector struggles with low commodity prices and mounting trade competition, farmers are increasingly relying on the FSA for loan assistance. Without the financial support, some farmers may struggle to survive until the next cash injection in the fall. Last month, the FSA told Congress it was tapping into $500 million in emergency funding to bolster a related program, the Guaranteed Farm Ownership Loan Program. However, emergency funding options do not exist for the agency’s Operating Loan Program. Currently, FSA loans are funding more than 113,000 borrowers, totaling nearly $23 billion.

A community organization against the proposed chicken processing plant in Fremont, Nebraska has filed a lawsuit against the city regarding zoning for the site. The lawsuit was filed by the Nebraska Communities United group Monday afternoon. The lawsuit claims the city illegally designated land set to house the Costco chicken plant as blighted to qualify for tax-increment financing, or TIF funding. The complaint argues that state law on TIF projects does not allow the “blighted” designation for rural land, noting that more than 400 of the 1,000 acres on the property are cornfields. The opposition group was founded by three Fremont, Nebraska residents. The Omaha World-Herald reports the plaintiffs worked with the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, an Oregon advocacy group that opposes what it calls “factory farming” nationwide.