The Trump administration’s big farm aid package is expected to be announced next week, and Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden tells Agri-Pulse “a wide variety of commodity crops” will be eligible for the program.

In an extended interview with Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Vaden didn’t detail how the program will work and which commodities will be covered, but he says USDA “has certainly heard from the specialty crop community.”

 As for the program’s size, Newsmakers anchor Lydia Johnson noted that USDA had earmarked more than $12 billion for farmer aid. “How it gets divided up between what commodities. That's obviously what the announcement's going to be, but we set aside that money for a reason. It's our intent to use it,” Vaden says.

Vaden also discusses other key issues, including the timeline for USDA reorganization and how the department is attacking food inflation. 

The full show will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.                                                                                      

Don’t miss: House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., told Agri-Pulse Thursday that USDA's farm assistance package will account for low commodity prices, not just export losses.

Soccer statecraft

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s U.S. trip comes after President Donald Trump nixed trade talks between the two countries in October over an anti-tariff ad run by the Ontario government. The visit will also be the first face-to-face meeting between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Trump since she took office in October 2024.

But Canadian officials are downplaying expectations. Canada’s minister responsible for U.S.-Canada trade Dominic LeBlanc told Bloomberg Thursday that there are no trade discussions planned , but says Canada is ready to resume negotiations.

 In a press briefing Thursday Sheinbaum said she does hope to talk tariffs with the U.S. president.

Take note: The meeting comes as all three countries are preparing for a 2026 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. U.S. officials have heard from several ag industries this week on the benefits of the deal for U.S. exports.

But the administration is signaling that it hasn’t yet decided on how to proceed. Trump could still break the deal into two bilateral trade deals or scrap it altogether, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says on a Politico podcast set to air today.

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“The president’s view is he only wants deals that are a good deal. The reason why we built a review period into USMCA was in case we needed to revise it, review it or exit it,” Greer will tell Politico’s Dasha Burns, according to a preview.

Soybean industry resumes marketing efforts in Syria

The U.S. Soybean Export Council said Thursday it will resume efforts to increase soybean exports to Syria following the removal of some sanctions.

The U.S. has not exported soybeans to Syria since 2011, when the U.S. imposed sanctions following the outbreak of a civil war. In 2010, U.S. soybean exports to the country were worth more than $160 million, according to FAS data.

“As we seek to diversify global markets for U.S. soy, Syria has great potential,” export council CEO Jim Sutter said in a statement. “We look forward to getting our feet on the ground and building partnerships with the industry once again.”

Summit taking a look at North Dakota decision

Summit Carbon Solutions is reviewing a North Dakota judge’s decision that found a state law on property rights and carbon-dioxide storage unconstitutional.

Summit’s the firm behind a delayed plan to build a nearly $10 billion, multi-state pipeline that would capture and store CO2 emissions from ethanol plants across the U.S. Corn Belt. Although it and other companies were not targeted in the lawsuit from landowner and farm groups, some observers say the decision could end up having far-reaching implications.

The state law at issue involves “pore space”. Those are the empty spaces below the ground’s surface used in carbon emission sequestration and storage.

Summit is “evaluating our options,” the company’s statement said. “Our North Dakota pore space remains an important long-term asset for the project and our partners, including the state of North Dakota, our ethanol plant customers, and the communities we serve.”

FDA gives green light for new drug to treat screwworm, cattle fever ticks

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday conditionally approved a new topical treatment to prevent and treat New World screwworm larval infestations in cattle.

 The product — Exzolt Cattle-CA1 — can also treat cattle fever ticks in beef cattle that are two months of age or older, and replacement dairy heifers younger than 20 months old, according to an FDA press release.

In the press release, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the action "gives cattle producers a new tool to combat two parasites threatening the well-being of cattle in the U.S.” He added that it is the first time the FDA has approved a drug for controlling cattle fever ticks.

 EPA likely to punt RVO rules into next year

Biofuel industry hopes are fading fast that EPA will be able to deliver final blending rules for 2026-27 before year’s end.

Regulatory logistics alone make it a tough climb for the Trump administration to issue Renewable Volume Obligations, or RVOs, before Dec. 31, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Brett Gibbs. "Finalizing RVOs by year-end … has become UNLIKELY," he said on X this week.

Scott Irwin, an ag professor at the University of Illinois, agrees with Gibbs, saying he'd be "shocked" to see the biofuel blending rules come out this holiday season.

“They likely won't do it until early 2026," Emily Skor, CEO of the ethanol trade group Growth Energy, told Agri-Pulse last month.

EPA on Thursday said the agency is reviewing public comments on the proposed rules as it works on a final regulation.

Final Word

Andrew Ross Sorkin: “China was supposed to buy 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans … by the end of this year.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: “No. By the end of the season. So, I think that will be Feb. 28…  They are in a perfect cadence to complete that goal.” – Bessent in conversation with Sorkin, a financial journalist, at an event Wednesday.

A White House fact sheet on the U.S.-China deal still available online says China committed to buying 12 million tons “during the last two months of 2025.”
 
Kim Chipman, Lydia Johnson, Oliver Ward and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak.