USDA expects to enroll ‘a large number of acres’ in Conservation Reserve
The USDA will hold its first “general” signup for the land-idling Conservation Reserve Program under the 2018 farm bill in early December, and “we expect to enroll a large number of acres,” said Deputy Agriculture Secretary Steve Censky on Thursday.
Although weaknesses persist, farmers borrow less money
Farmers and ranchers are taking out fewer loans from agricultural banks, and asking for smaller amounts of money when they need cash to pay for equipment, livestock or day-to-day expenses, said the Federal Reserve in its quarterly Agricultural Finance Databook. "Weaknesses in the sector persisted, continuing to pressure farm cash flows and agricultural credit conditions," reports the Fed.
Japan ag output to decline under trade pact with U.S.
Japanese beef producers will be hit the hardest by their nation's agreement to reduce tariffs on U.S. food and agriculture products, according to an estimate by the government in Tokyo. The package calls for Japan to reduce or eliminate tariffs on $7.4 billion worth of U.S. ag exports beginning on Jan. 1.
Tighter SNAP rules could deny free school meals to nearly a million children
The Trump administration said on Wednesday that up to 982,000 children would lose automatic access to free meals at school under its plan to tighten SNAP eligibility rules. Brandon Lipps, deputy agriculture undersecretary, said the impact would be minimal because most of the children would qualify for a free or reduced-price meal if their parents filed the necessary paperwork.
With relocation, ERS losing top expert on consolidation
Thanks to the Trump administration’s decision to move the agency out of Washington, the USDA’s Economic Research Service is losing its top expert on market consolidation at a time when declining competition in agriculture is under increased scrutiny from policymakers and government officials.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
EPA ethanol plan ‘falls short of the promises,’ says House ag chairman
The Trump administration “has yet ... to produce a concrete plan to meet the annual 15 billion-gallon requirement” for mixing corn ethanol into the U.S. gasoline supply, said House Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson on Wednesday.
Biofuel groups decry EPA backsliding on vow that ’15 billion means 15 billion’
Trade war a factor in slower world growth, says IMF
U.S. and China agree to control ag trade for two years
Global ethanol use to grow dramatically, says USGC analyst
One-year wonder: U.S. soy stockpile to shrink as quickly as it grew
Aided by the Sino-U.S. trade war, the U.S. soybean inventory doubled to a record 913 million bushels in one year, the government said on Thursday. At the same time, the USDA estimated that total will be cut in half by next September.
Court documents show beef checkoff sends millions to cattle lobby
Newly released documents in a lawsuit between a group of independent Montana cattle ranchers and the USDA show that millions of dollars from an industry marketing fund are being diverted to the top cattle lobby, which some ranchers have long claimed misappropriates those funds for political use. The case could reshape how the beef checkoff, as the marketing program is called, is administered.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Storms and hard freeze threaten corn and soybeans
A hard freeze is forecast across a significant portion of the western Corn Belt, with 14 percent of the U.S. corn crop and 5 percent of the soybean crop at risk of freeze damage, said forecaster Maxar on Wednesday.
Farm activists seek ‘robust’ fair-play rules at USDA
The USDA should provide strong protections for livestock and poultry growers in their dealings with meatpackers and processors, said farm activists on Thursday in delivering petitions signed by more than 84,000 people in support of a “robust” fair-practices rule.
Perdue puts his ‘Sonnyside’ on display as podcaster
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will release the first episode of his own podcast today — a chat with former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who describes how much President Trump “loves America’s farmers and ranchers.”
Meat industry challenges California animal-welfare referendum
Eleven months after Californians approved "cage-free" Proposition 12 in a landslide vote, the meat industry asked a federal court in Los Angeles to overturn the referendum that guarantees farm animals more space to move about. The trade group North American Meat Institute says the referendum violates the Constitution, which puts the federal government in charge of interstate commerce.
Ahead of trade talks, Trump asks China to investigate Biden family
With Sino-U.S. trade talks scheduled to resume next week, President Trump said on Thursday that “China should start an investigation into the Bidens.” He also said his administration was “looking at a lot of different things” to increase pressure on China to resolve the trade war.
Pence tells Iowa, ‘I came … to turn up the heat’ on USMCA
Time is running short for President Trump to win congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement this year, with lawmakers set to work just eight weeks before adjourning in early December. Vice President Mike Pence called on House Democrats on Wednesday to set aside their “partisan impeachment” inquiry and approve the USMCA.
Ethanol plan to ‘net out’ at 15 billion gallons – EPA’s Wheeler
The EPA will adjust the Renewable Fuel Standard to "net out" at 15 billion gallons in 2020 after waivers to some oil refineries, said administrator Andrew Wheeler. During a broadcast interview, Wheeler said the agency expects to release soon a detailed version of its plan, intended as a compromise between the ethanol and oil industries.
California sets Feb. 6 deadline to end sale of chlorpyrifos
An agreement between pesticide manufacturers and the California EPA will cut off sales of the insecticide chlorpyrifos on Feb. 6 and ban virtually all use of the chemical in the state after next Dec. 31. It offers a much speedier schedule for withdrawing the chemical from the market in the No. 1 agricultural state than initially expected.