Elections on tap for first week of June

The week ahead will be filled with primary elections in key states and events on Capitol Hill, including an appearance by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who will testify before the House Ag Committee Thursday.

But before that, Republicans and Democrats will go to the polls Tuesday in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. Iowa Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra got a full-throated endorsement from President Donald Trump Friday, but it may not help him get over the hump.

Matthew Klein, an analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which rates the Iowa governor's race in November a "toss-up,” says Trump’s “11th-hour backing” doesn’t guarantee a Feenstra win.

“Feenstra has clearly struggled to generate enthusiasm among the GOP’s populist right, which remains frustrated by his decision to skip local events and distrustful of his establishment ties in Washington," Klein says.

A recent poll shows Feenstra neck and neck in the Republican primary with Zach Lahn.

In California’s “jungle primary,” where the top two vote-getters advance, Republican and Democratic candidates are locked in a tight race that could see Democrats shut out of the general election.

Also on Tuesday: The Agri-Pulse Food & Ag Issues Summit in Sacramento. Government and industry leaders will discuss water, politics, MAHA, data centers and more.

Biofuel credits and soy oil soar amid highly complex ag market 

Biofuels are the clear golden child of the crop-based agriculture sector, even as uncertainty persists around key issues like E15 and 45Z.

Ethanol and biomass-based diesel credits, used to track compliance of U.S. biofuel-blending requirements, climbed to all-time highs on Friday, notes independent oil analyst and Oil Price Information Service co-founder Tom Kloza.

The signal of robust demand for renewable fuels follows favorable U.S. policy issued in March. And the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz for oil shipments has been a major boost for the overall sentiment toward biofuels, as more countries seek to bolster domestic energy security.

Another sign: Soybean oil, widely used for making green diesel, jumped higher last week even as optimism around prospects for U.S.-Iran peace sent crude oil and diesel prices lower, No Bull Agriculture analyst Susan Stroud wrote in a weekend note to clients.

Prices for soy oil have become less tied to crude oil and more linked with pro-biofuel U.S mandates, according to Stroud. The higher demand comes amid global supply worries, supporting higher soy oil value. Soy oil has jumped almost 60% since January.

But, but, but: Whole soybeans needed to create soy oil fell last week.

Traders are waiting for confirmation that the 25 million metric tons of new-crop business from China will “finally materialize,” Stroud said.

Back to Hormuz: Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth told Bloomberg TV late last week that while the oil company seeks to move its six chartered ships currently inside the Strait of Hormuz, it’s up to the third-party ship owners to assess the risk.

The CEO said some vessels in transit through the strait have been attacked, including incidents not reported in the media.

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“They are maybe not every day, but there have been multiple incidents that have occurred,” Wirth said.

Trump administration delays implementation of poultry competition rule

The Trump administration is formally delaying the July 1 implementation date of a Biden-era USDA poultry competition rule until the end of next year, citing a need for more time to analyze its effects.

In a final rule issued today, Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Erin Morris wrote that the 18-month delay will allow “for thorough consideration of estimated costs and the policy and legal issues associated” with the rule.

The delayed regulations would have barred poultry integrators from reducing producer payments under tournament ranking systems while still allowing producers to receive bonuses.

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The rule, which was finalized in January 2025 in the closing days of the Biden administration, also stipulates that a tournament can only make up 25% of a producer's total compensation. It was one of three new Packers and Stockyards rules finalized under that administration.

In today’s notice, Morris says the agency expects live poultry dealers to see $4.9 million in ongoing administrative costs for each of the first four years of the rule, while poultry growers see around $249,000 in administrative costs each year. 

Electric co-ops need to address data centers individually, Matheson says

Rural electric cooperatives should be allowed to address proposals for data centers in the areas they serve on a case-by-case basis, says the head of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

“We want every co-op to be able to make their own decision about what makes sense for them,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson tells Jeff Nalley on Agri-Pulse Open Mic.  

Matheson notes that data centers’ need for power around the clock can benefit utilities.

“On one level, the utilities say, hey – if someone wants to take my power when I'm not selling, otherwise that's good news. The problem is, what do you do during the on-peak times when everyone wants their electricity as well, including the data center?”  

Local siting issues are also a concern, Matheson says.

Listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic here.

Biodiesel fraud results in 18-month sentence, $3 million in payments

A biofuel fraud scheme has netted a Florida man 18 months in prison.

Christopher Burdett had pled guilty in February to being part of a scheme that generated more than $7 million in phony renewable fuel credits and “sought over $6 million in fraudulent tax credits connected to the purported production of biodiesel,” a Justice Department press release said.

As part of his sentence, Burdett must pay about $2.86 million in restitution and a $150,000 fine.

FWS designates more than 1.5 million acres of critical habitat for rusty patched bumblebee

The Fish and Wildlife Service is designating more than 1.5 million acres across six states as critical habitat for the rusty patched bumblebee.

Critical habitat designations require federal agencies to consider impacts on species when issuing permits or carrying out other tasks on designated lands. The bumblebee designation covers habitat in parts of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia and West Virginia, according to a Federal Register notice being published today.

Rusty patched bumblebees once occupied a broad range across the eastern U.S. and parts of Canada, but their historical range has been reduced by 92%, according to FWS. The bee was first listed as endangered by FWS in 2017, but in 2020 the agency decided against designation, finding it was “not prudent.” 

FWS was forced to propose critical habitat in response to a lawsuit brought by environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The final designation is 150,000 acres less than the 1.65 million acres FWS proposed in 2024.

FWS only included areas at least 0.6 miles, or 1 kilometer, away from “large-scale and intensive agricultural areas that rely on pesticides, or use a variety of managed bees for pollination, or both,” according to the designation.

Final word

“In some locations, there may be a place where it does make sense to do a data center. In other locations, it may make sense to not do a data center. And we don't want federal policies or even state policies to create a one-size-fits-all, this is the way it should be. We want each co-op to be able to make the right decision for their local community.” — National Rural Electric Cooperative CEO Jim Matheson on Agri-Pulse Open Mic.

Kim Chipman and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak.