Corn and biofuel groups are urging lawmakers not to allow “a tiny handful of mid-sized refiners to take year-round E15 hostage while demanding outlandish handouts.”
The call comes after a congressional task force missed a Feb. 15 deadline to come up with a recommendation for legislation that would allow year-round sales of higher ethanol blends, known as E15.
“Our rural champions in Congress — backed by President Trump — understand that voters want to see more American-made energy, lower prices at the pump, and a stronger farm economy,” the National Corn Growers Association, Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association said.
Merchant oil refiners say any year-round E15 bill needs to reduce the Trump administration’s proposed 15-billion-gallon ethanol blending mandate for this year and next. They also want protection from an EPA proposal that would reallocate biofuel credits from small refinery exemptions to other refiners, saying that doing so, when combined with the “unattainable” mandate, will put independent refiners in danger of shutting down.
Ag-oil feuding could pose a loyalty test for Trump, a self-proclaimed fan of both American farmers and fossil fuels.
Bayer Roundup deal called ‘tremendous victory’ for plaintiffs
In a major announcement bearing on the future of Roundup, Bayer announced a $7.25 billion proposed settlement to cover thousands of outstanding and future claims that the herbicide caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys who filed for class-action status and preliminary approval of the agreement called it “a tremendous victory for plaintiffs in Missouri and across the nation, many of whom have waited years for compensation for their Roundup-related claims.”
Bayer CEO Bill Anderson continued to maintain that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is safe to use.
Scientists and regulators worldwide have consistently held that “glyphosate is a safe and essential tool for farmers in the U.S. and around the world,” Anderson said.
The proposed settlement was submitted by plaintiffs’ attorneys for approval in St. Louis Circuit Court in Missouri.
Take note: Bayer can’t estimate how many cases the settlement will ultimately cover. However, it’s structured to include not just current claims but potential future claims for individuals exposed before Feb. 17, 2026, or who are diagnosed within 16 years.
Proposed rules would allow faster line speeds for pork and poultry processing
Pork and poultry processors could see faster line speeds under new rules proposed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday.
A new proposed rule would allow young chicken establishments to process up to 175 birds per minute, while maximum line speeds for turkey establishments would increase from 55 to 60 birds per minute.
A separate rule would allow pork processors to set their own line speeds “based on their ability to maintain process control,” though USDA inspectors would be able to reduce line speed rates if they found a loss of process control or could not properly perform a carcass-by-carcass inspection within that time.
State AGs want more scrutiny of proposed rail merger
Seven Republican state attorneys general are calling for Justice Department scrutiny over a proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. They argue that the deal would “shackle domestic manufacturers, energy producers, and farmers with higher rates and fewer shipping options."
In a letter to DOJ officials, the state AGs said their staff are reviewing the railroads’ merger application. But so far, they don’t like what they see. The AGs said the companies have “failed to adequately address the clear loss of horizontal competition” that would result from the deal.
They say company submissions advocating for the merger ignore DOJ measures of concentration that would make the merger illegal under federal antitrust merger guidelines.
They also asked DOJ to analyze the claims made by the companies on the merger’s benefits for potential exaggerations.
"At bottom, we believe that this merger is unnecessary, and that railroads are not headed for extinction without it,” they wrote. "American shippers currently have access to fair, competitive, and efficient rail and interline service.”
The AGs on the letter include Austin Knudsen of Montana, Brenna Bird of Iowa, Kris Kobach of Kansas, Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Drew Wrigley of North Dakota, Marty Jackley of South Dakota, and Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee.
Soybean acres set for strong 2026, report finds
U.S. soybean acres are likely to rebound this year, a new study from CoBank notes, following a big year for corn and amid rallying prices.
CoBank analysts Tanner Ehmke and Emmie Noyes project 86 million acres of soybeans in 2026, up from around 81 million in 2025, but behind the 87 million planted in 2024.
Farmers, particularly in the Midwest, are sitting on record supplies of corn. Accordingly, the authors note that they “will be reluctant to follow with more corn acres this spring,” and anticipate soybeans pulling acres from other crops.
The expectation that the Environmental Protection Agency is set to increase its renewable volume obligation, coupled with optimism that the worst trade frictions with China are fading, is buoying prices.
Meanwhile, slowing exports to China are set to drag cotton acres to their lowest level in 11 years; rice acres are also projected to fall 20% to their lowest rate in three decades, the authors say, amid cratering prices and a flood of Indian product on global markets.
Dairy sector to laud recent cheese protections at USTR hearing
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hold a hearing this morning to gather feedback ahead of an annual report on intellectual property concerns.
Among those testifying is Shawna Morris, a senior director at the Consortium for Common Food Names and executive vice president for trade policy at the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
The administration has negotiated language in a string of recent trade pacts to protect generic uses of common meat and cheese names, like feta, Parmesan and pecorino.
Expect Morris to show appreciation for the inclusion of the protections in recent trade negotiations and highlight areas where the issues persist.
“Last year represented a breakthrough year in the protection of common names for U.S. producers,” CCFN said in written comments. We “are eager to see the administration build on this success in 2026 and beyond.”
Take note: One area that groups will be watching closely is how Argentina implements the terms of its U.S. deal. A recent agreement with the U.S. included a slew of protections for generic meat and cheese names. But the European Union-Mercosur free trade agreement provides European producers protections for the use of some of the same geographic indicators.
“It is up to Argentina to determine how they will handle the EU-Mercosur negotiations,” Tony Rice, senior director of trade policy at NMPF and USDEC, said in an email. But he added that the country’s commitments in the U.S. deal “are very clear.”
“We expect full follow-through in implementation,” he said.
But, but, but: Argentina has some time to decide how to handle the contradictory measures. The EU-Mercosur deal still has to undergo a judicial review before Europe implements the agreement, which could take more than a year.
Koch Foods worker dies due to fire at Ohio chicken plant
A worker died in a fire at a Koch Foods chicken processing plant in Ohio that also injured two people, according to local news reports.
The 25-year-old employee was initially unaccounted for but was identified Tuesday, WLWT 5 reported. The Butler County, Ohio, coroner’s office reported that Griffin Darrow died of smoke inhalation.
“Authorities say the fire caused extensive damage to the 600,000-square-foot facility, including partial structural collapses in the central portion of the building,” the TV station reported.
The precise cause of the fire, which began early Sunday, is under investigation.
Final Word
“I’m an old-school conservative. I have never supported tariffs. The last Republican president to support tariffs was Herbert Hoover, and it didn't work out well for him during the Depression.” – Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb, speaking on MS Now on Tuesday.
Bacon was among six House Republicans who voted to scrap Trump’s tariffs on Canada last week.
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