The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation are recognizing the benefits of high octane fuels, such as a mid-level ethanol blend, in their SAFE Vehicles rule. That is potentially very good news for corn farmers. The agencies specifically requested comments on how EPA, “could support the production and use of higher octane gasoline” in order to support fuel …
Trump Tweets on SNAP Work Requirements
The biggest difference between the House and Senate versions of the farm bill was front and center on Twitter. President Trump jumped into the debate via Twitter, in an effort to tip the scales toward House Republicans ahead of conference negotiations. “When the House and Senate meet on the very important farm bill, hopefully, they will be able to leave …
Senate Passes 1-Year Delay for ELD Mandate
An amendment to the Senate’s “minibus” spending bill would grant livestock haulers another year-long extension to implement the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate. Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer proposed the amendment to delay implementation of the ELD mandate until Sept. 30, 2019. Fischer says the amendment is important because livestock haulers face different challenges than traditional haulers who are currently using …
Scott: Expedited Water Project Will Help Reduce Harmful Lake Okeechobee Discharges
Governor Rick Scott announced that, under his direction, another key Everglades restoration project is moving forward ahead of schedule. This year, Governor Scott included funding to expedite this project in his recommended budget and then signed into law this investment of $6 million to begin construction on the S-333 expansion project by the end of the year. This expansion project …
Ethanol Exports on Pace to Shatter Record in 2018
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 …