Government data released show that U.S. ethanol exports through June stood at 927.7 million gallons (mg), up 33 percent from the first half of 2017 and on pace to shatter last year’s record of 1.38 billion gallons (bg). According to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), robust export markets are more important now than ever before, as actions by the Environmental …
Canada Happily on NAFTA Sidelines, for Now
Canada may be sitting out on the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks, for now. However, Canadian officials say they are “perfectly happy” doing so, because “they have a number of issues to discuss that Canada does not need to sit in on,” according to Politico. That includes auto rules in the agreement, a contentious issue between the U.S. …
Senate Approves Ag Appropriations Bill
The Senate earlier this week approved a number of appropriation bills, including the 2019 Agriculture appropriations bill, before heading off to a two-week long recess. The Senate voted 92-6 to pass a bill that funds the Agriculture Department and related agencies, and other federal agencies such as Transportation, Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency. Senate leadership is hopeful to pass …
Drought Monitor Shows Continued Dryness
If one were to draw a line roughly at or south of Interstate 80 across the central U.S. and look south, drought conditions would raise major alarm bells. As such, a split through Corn Belt shows much of the area south of the Interstate 80 corridor in a classified drought. The latest Drought Monitor released Thursday shows areas of extreme …
BASF Closes Acquisition of Businesses and Assets from Bayer
BASF has closed the acquisition of a range of businesses and assets from Bayer. The transaction, the company says, is a “strategic complement” to BASF’s crop protection, biotech and digital farming activities and marks its entry into seeds, non-selective herbicides and nematicide seed treatments. A spokesperson for BASF says the move “adds excellent assets” to the BASF portfolio. BASF signed …
Environmental Group: Food Companies are Flunking the Planet
A report-card like study gives the majority of food companies a flunking grade on environmental issues. The report, issued by Mighty Earth, claims to find widespread failure across the food industry to address the environmental impacts of the meat supply chain. The report is called “Flunking the Planet: Scoring America’s Food Companies on Sustainable Meat.” Calling meat one of the …
NACD Sends Letter to Farm Bill Conference Committee
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate members assigned to the 2018 Farm Bill conference committee. The letter outlines the organization’s legislative priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill. NACD supports a final bill that includes level funding for the Conservation Title, retains the current conservation delivery system within the Regional Conservation …
Senate Names Farm Bill Conference Committee Members
The Senate Wednesday named members to the farm bill conference committee following action a day earlier to move forward with the conference process. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell named himself to the committee, along with Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, and fellow Republicans John Boozman of Arkansas, John Hoeven of North Dakota and Joni Ernst of Iowa. Meanwhile, Minority Leader Chuck …
U.S., China Reportedly Trying to Re-engage in Trade Talks
The U.S. and China are trying to restart trade talks as the two nations square off in a trade war. The attempt comes as the Trump administration readies a new round of tariffs against China. Bloomberg reports representatives of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China’s Vice Premier are having private conversations as they look for ways to re-engage in …
Poll Shows Voters Narrowly Support Aid for Farmers
A poll by Morning Consult and Politico shows nearly six in ten voters favor President Trump’s $12 billion plan to provide aid to farmers suffering from his trade policy. Nearly 2,000 registered voters were surveyed, and 57 percent either somewhat or strongly support the farmer aid package that was announced a week ago. Support came primarily from Republicans, with nearly …