Sam Clovis, tainted in Russia probe, resurfaces in Trump campaign
A national co-chair of the 2016 Trump campaign, Sam Clovis, is a member of the newly announced Farmers and Ranchers for Trump, according to the organization's website. Clovis withdrew his nomination for USDA chief scientist on Nov. 2, 2017, after investigators said he encouraged a campaign staff worker to try to contact Russians claiming to have harmful information about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Soybean stocks to surge if Sino-U.S. trade war flares
President Trump says “it’s certainly an option” to impose additional tariffs on China, a step that could end hopes of large U.S. farm exports to the Asian rival. A resumption of trade hostilities could mean larger U.S. soybean carry-over stocks this Sept. 1 and in fall 2021, possibly 500 …
Trump tariff payments and E15 take a hit from shutdown
The partial government shutdown is putting a kink in the Trump tariff payments to farmers and it could prevent the EPA from approving the sale of E15 by the summer, as promised by President Trump. But farm groups have made few public complaints about the shutdown, now in its third week.
Disruption in U.S. cotton and soy exports loom due to trade war
One of the world's largest grain companies warned of a "skinny export season" for U.S. soybeans and an intergovernmental body said the United States might need to seek new markets for its cotton due to President Trump's trade war with China. Meanwhile, the Trump administration threatened on Wednesday to put 25-percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as leverage for reform.
Concerns grow over Trump’s trade, rural infrastructure plans
A growing number of farmers and rural advocates say President Trump's trade and rural infrastructure proposals would further damage the struggling farm economy, despite his vow to boost rural America through renewed investment.
Low coal, uranium prices reduce interest in Bears Ears, Grand Staircase
The Trump administration's new and smaller boundaries for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments may not generate many immediate requests from energy companies to mine or drill on the 2 million acres of land, said the Associated Press. The Interior Department declined to say how many claims have been filed but a trade group said low uranium prices would "discourage any investment in new claims'" in the Bears Ears territory of Utah.
USDA nominee Clovis: same-sex marriage could lead to legalization of pedophilia
In the years before becoming co-chair of the Trump presidential campaign, Iowa college professor Sam Clovis, nominated to be the USDA's chief scientist, said homosexuality was a choice and that same-sex marriage could lead to legalization of pedophilia, reported CNN's KFile. The White House did not respond to a CNN request for comment and a USDA spokeswoman told the KFile, "The Supreme Court settled the issue in 2015."
Will farmers feel a chill when Trump cools the U.S.-Cuba thaw?
Nearly two decades ago, Congress exempted food and agricultural goods from the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, opening the way for modest exports to the island. The 2000 law would be somewhat of a shield for those sales when President Trump realigns U.S. policy toward Havana, scheduled in Miami on Friday.