Commodity groups are protesting Monsanto’s filing of petitions seeking duties on glyphosate imported from China.
“The domestic glyphosate business as it stands today is not sustainable,” the Bayer subsidiary said in a short statement. “This action is needed to support long-term U.S. production for American farmers.” China has engaged in “predatory trade practices and subsidized imports of glyphosate,” the statement said.
The National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association and National Association of Wheat Growers all objected to the petitions filed with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission seeking antidumping and countervailing duties.
“Tariffs on imported glyphosate will be felt by American farmers,” NAWG CEO Sam Kieffer said. “Wheat growers are already facing stubbornly high input costs, weak commodity prices, and continued market uncertainty. This announcement comes at a difficult time in a tough farm economy.”
NCGA called the development “highly concerning for America’s corn farmers,” and ASA said it “has consistently opposed actions taken by input suppliers to restrict imports through countervailing duty and antidumping actions.”
Monsanto is the only domestic producer of glyphosate.
Judge bars USDA from continuing land access program terminations
A federal judge has blocked the Agriculture Department from cutting off grants to 24 groups under a Biden-era program aimed at helping underserved producers access land.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., said in an opinion that while USDA leaders “might have policy disagreements” with authorizing statute for the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program, “they flout Congress’s mandates” when terminating “grants for the very reason that the grants further the aims Congress explicitly instructed defendants to pursue.”
She noted that the groups were sent nearly identical termination letters that said each award “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”
Howell allowed all 24 to join an active lawsuit challenging a variety of USDA cuts.
Trump’s fertilizer move underscores push for rural midterm support
President Donald Trump’s suspension of duties on Moroccan phosphate is underscoring the effort the Republican administration is making to shore up support from rural America ahead of the high-stakes midterm elections in November.
“The White House is aiming to ensure stable supply of phosphate fertilizers for American farmers to help reduce production costs and support domestic ag production,” says Oppenheimer analyst Kristen Owen. “The emergency relief is the latest in the Trump administration's efforts to offset the costs of the trade war and Iran conflict on US agriculture.”
Another fertilizer analyst is asking “why now?”
“I’m thrilled that this is a step forward for free trade markets” but “why not last summer, when North American phosphate values were some of the highest in the world due to a lack of supply? Why not this last winter in the lead-up to spring season?” asks Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer at StoneX Group.
Still, the move “helps to return one of our recent historical suppliers of phosphate,” he added. If Trump’s action causes prices to decline, not a certainty but a possibility, it would be a huge benefit to farmers who are starting to look at crop nutrient supplies for next season, Linville notes.
Wheat ‘shocker’ as U.S. acres seen below expectations
Grain markets got a surprise Tuesday when USDA said it sees wheat acres this year down 6% from 2025, a million acres lower than the outlook three months ago.
The bulk of the shortfall stems from winter wheat seedings, which USDA expects to decline 5% from last year.
“Winter wheat was the acreage shocker,” said No Bull Ag analyst Susan Stroud.
Corn acreage was little changed from the March forecast while soybeans climbed by 665,000 acres, though that was expected, said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX Group.
Zeldin hosts panel on addressing unique community food security needs
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin hosted a panel at the Great American State Fair to talk about the agency’s Feed it Onward Program and how each community has unique needs to address food insecurity.
Zeldin told Agri-Pulse EPA is finding private sector partners across the country and “seeing such very innovative, unique approaches that that community is taking towards tackling food waste.”
He provided the example of a watermelon that was not the right dimensions to be sold in a traditional grocery store. “We want to be able to make sure that that watermelon, that apple, that other product is still being used, especially for people who otherwise would be going to sleep hungry,” Zeldin said.
“We're a really big and diverse nation, and every community is different, so whether it's urban, rural, different landscapes — but also a farming community versus a community that has a lot of food manufacturing distributors,” ReFED Executive Director Sara Burnett said. “Very different problems, very different solutions, so there's not a one-size-fits-all.”
International Trade Commission keeps antidumping duty on Mexican tomatoes
The U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday decided it will not roll back a 17% antidumping duty on imported fresh tomatoes from Mexico.
The commission launched an investigation on Jan. 21 to review the duty determination after receiving a change of circumstance review request from the Bioparques Group in 2025, according to the ITC. The request was in response to a Commerce Department decision to terminate a 2019 agreement that suspended the duties effective July 14, 2025.
The Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents Florida tomato growers and packers, applauded the decision to maintain the duties. The FTE filed a request with Commerce in 2024 that ultimately resulted in the termination of the 2019 agreement. The first tomato antidumping duty imposed on Mexico was established after a 1996 petition by FTE.
“Today’s decision is a victory for fair competition and the rule of law,” Robert Guenther, FTE’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “American tomato farmers have spent three decades waiting for relief from dumped Mexican tomato imports under U.S. trade laws as Congress intended. This decision confirms we’re on the right track.”
The ITC’s full report will be available by Aug. 17.
Final Word
“People ask me, what keeps me up at night? Yes, labor, but it's also opportunity for young people to come back to our industry — and why would a young person coming out of college come into agriculture when he knew he wouldn't be able to find enough workers to actually do the work on a farm or expand his parents' farm or try to create his own farm? We have to fix those problems around labor.” — American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, speaking Tuesday at a House Agriculture Committee news briefing to unveil sweeping farm labor legislation.
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