Daybreak won’t publish Thursday or Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Senate Republican leadership is assembling one more package of Trump administration nominees for a floor vote this year.
A source familiar with the planning tells Agri-Pulse the package will include Julie Callahan, who is President Donald Trump’s pick for chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Callahan advanced out of the Finance Committee last week.
The source said the Senate is expected to vote on the nomination package in the coming weeks with the process potentially starting as soon as next week.
Julie Callahan speaking at the Agri-Pulse Outlook Forum in March (Agri-Pulse photo)USDA delays quarterly trade outlook report, blames government shutdown
The Agriculture Department’s quarterly Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade report was not published as scheduled on Tuesday, and a USDA official blamed Democrats for the delay.
“The Radical Left Democrat Shutdown delayed the release of key information needed to publish the Quarterly Trade Outlook,” a USDA spokesperson tells Agri-Pulse in an email. “A new publication date will be set once USDA has all the necessary data.”
The spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up question on when the department expects to have that data.
House Democrats mount bid to lift tariffs on Pacific allies
A group of House Democrats has introduced a bill that would lift President Trump’s emergency tariffs on 40 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including U.S. allies Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Agriculture Committee member Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, introduced the “Indo-Pacific Partner and Ally Tariff Repeal Act,” which counts fellow committee member Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., among its six co-sponsors.
“Slapping our closest partners with tariffs while they face down growing Chinese aggression is backwards, counterproductive, and dangerous, and hurts American businesses and consumers,” Tokuda said in statement Monday. “We must stand with our allies, not against them.”
FDA gets petition for use of hydrolyzed lignin in animal feed
The Food and Drug Administration has received a petition from Austrian livestock feed company Green Innovation GmbH seeking approval of hydrolyzed lignin as a food additive.
The “neutral detergent soluble fiber” would be used in food for broiler chickens, laying hens, turkeys, growing swine, sows, lactating dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, goats, salmonids and adult dogs.
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The petition specifies the amount would be no more than 1% of the food on a weight basis or 10 kilograms per metric ton of food.
Texas farmers continue court fight over PFAS in biosolids
Plaintiffs seeking regulation of forever chemicals in biosolids are appealing a federal court decision that found EPA did not have a duty to do so.
Texas farmers joined with Johnson County, Texas, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network in suing EPA. A federal judge last month found the Clean Water Act doesn’t require the agency to add new chemicals to its sewage sludge regulations or enforce new rules on a fixed timeline.
“EPA does not currently limit the amount of PFAS biosolids can contain, even though it estimates that over 2.4 million tons of biosolids are land-applied annually,” said Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is representing the plaintiffs.
Farmers criticize Trump administration over Thanksgiving meal cost
Some farmers are criticizing the Trump administration’s touting of lower Thanksgiving meal costs. The criticism came during a discussion hosted by Tariffs Cost U.S., a campaign that provides global trade information.
The administration has publicized a Walmart Thanksgiving basket of goods that is about 25% less expensive than last year’s and costs just under $40. However, this year’s basket has fewer and different items than before.
Kansas Farmers Union President Nick Levendofsky says the administration’s claim includes “some inaccuracies” and focuses more on boosting retailer sales around Thanksgiving than on farmers’ profits.
“Farmers are already not getting a lot out of every food dollar that’s spent, and you can’t raise a turkey for 27 cents a pound. It doesn’t work,” Levendofsky says. “Folks are struggling, and those misleading statements don’t help.”
When asked whether a federal bailout could ease some of these concerns, Mary Carroll Dodd, a small organic vegetable farmer, said that it may not provide meaningful relief.
“It’s very difficult to say that a bailout could help all farmers. I feel like we need long-term sustainable solutions, and not Band-Aids like a bailout,” Dodd said.
During the discussion, Tariffs Cost U.S. representatives said the average U.S. tariff rate now tops 16.8%, the highest since 1935.
“I can honestly say farmers don't want a bailout; they want trade,” added Levendofsky.
Still, he said, some farmers may feel compelled to accept whatever support is offered. “[Farmers] are going to accept whatever this government is going to give them, because it might mean the difference between them surviving as farmers or not.”
Nevada secures USDA approval for meat inspection program
Nevada has officially joined a list of states deemed by USDA to have a meat and poultry inspection program with standards equivalent to federal standards.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday announced that Nevada has USDA approval to join the State Meat and Poultry Inspection Program, which allows states to conduct inspections under a cooperative agreement with the federal government. Nevada is the 30th state to join the list.
In a release, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo said Nevada’s state meat and poultry inspection program “will significantly expand our local meat processing capacity, strengthen the supply chain, bolster Nevada’s agricultural economy, and ensure greater access to safe, locally produced food."
Final Word
“The Chinese are right on schedule in terms of the cadence of their [soybean] purchases,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a CNBC interview Tuesday.
China has placed orders for around 2 million tons of soybeans since Oct. 30 – the day before the Trump-Xi meeting. U.S. officials say China has promised to order at least 12 million tons by the end of the year.
Parker Litterick and Oliver Ward contributed to today’s Daybreak.
