President Donald Trump has ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all trade with Spain despite an upward trend of U.S. agricultural exports to the country.
“We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” Trump said at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. “Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don't pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits.”
USDA reports that the U.S. exported nearly $2.5 billion in agricultural goods to Spain in 2025 — a 4.6% compounded average growth rate over the last decade. Corn and tree nuts are the top exports to Spain, bringing in $784.1 million and $765.8 million in revenue, respectively, in 2025.
The White House referred Agri-Pulse to Trump’s remarks at the summit in response to a request for comment about the impact of the decision on U.S. farmers.
Spain is the only member of NATO that has not committed to increase its defense spending to 5% of its GDP by 2030.
Farm-state elections ramp up E15 bill pressure, Grassley says
The E15 clock keeps ticking.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says Congress needs to move on legislation to allow voluntary, year-round sales of higher ethanol fuel blends, known as E15, before lawmakers adjourn for five weeks starting in early October.
That’s the last chance to pass an E15 bill before high-stakes congressional elections across the country, including in Grassley’s home state of Iowa, the country’s largest producer of corn ethanol.
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“E15 is very critical to farmers voting in the midterm elections, and so I would expect it to be at least in September, but there's no reason it couldn't be done in July,” Grassley told reporters Wednesday.
Trump wants E15 and about $11 billion in farmer aid to be part of a nearly $88 billion supplemental spending bill that’s mostly aimed at funding the Iran war.
Grassley said E15 “better come as part of that bill” or the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. It would be good if E15 could be included in a farm bill working its way through Congress, but the legislation likely won’t be taken up until after the elections on Nov. 3, he added.
USDA expands forage crop insurance options
The Agriculture Department is adding revenue protection coverage for forage producers in select counties across 12 states beginning with the 2027 crop year.
The new policy announced Wednesday by USDA's Risk Management Agency replaces the current Actual Production History (APH) forage production policy in eligible counties with three coverage options: yield protection, revenue protection, and revenue protection with harvest price exclusion.
“We closely collaborated with forage producers and industry stakeholders to develop this expanded policy to provide these coverage options in the areas where it is needed the most,” RMA Administrator Pat Swanson said.
The expanded coverage is available in parts of California, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. Producers in eligible counties must enroll by Sept. 30 for 2027 coverage. The existing APH policy will remain available in other states.
EPA petitioned to require cancer warnings on pesticide labels
EPA should put cancer warnings on pesticides “linked to cancer,” the Center for Biological Diversity says in an emergency petition filed with the agency.
“Amending the label regulations would ensure that EPA satisfies its FIFRA duty to include all warnings necessary to protect human health,” says the petition, referring to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
The petition comes a couple of weeks after the Supreme Court limited the types of lawsuits plaintiffs can file in state court alleging harm caused by pesticides.
A review conducted by the center found that EPA has required cancer warnings on 69 of 4,919 labels — or 1.4% for products “containing an active ingredient that the agency itself designated a ‘likely’ human carcinogen,” the center said in a press release. The warning is included on 1.1% of products with an ingredient designated as a “possible” human carcinogen.
Federal agencies must respond to petitions within a “reasonable time,” a phrase that has been interpreted to give them considerable discretion.
U.S. ethanol exports climb 11% on robust demand in Canada and EU
U.S. exports of ethanol climbed 11% to 189.7 million gallons (mg) in May after a steep decline in April, the Renewable Fuels Association says, citing government data.
Canada dominated demand, with shipments rising 18% to a six-month high of 76.3 mg. Exports to the European Union, led by the Netherlands, increased 15% to 39.1 mg.
Nigeria imported 12.7 mg, the African country’s largest monthly volume of U.S. ethanol since December 2021. Exports to Colombia soared 72% to 10.9 mg.
Shipments to South Korea fell 38% to 10.1 mg, and exports to the U.K. declined 4% to 9.9 mg. Exports to both Brazil and India were essentially flat. Year-to-date U.S. ethanol exports are running 11% ahead of the same period last year, RFA says.
U.S. exports in May of dried distillers grains, the ethanol production byproduct used for animal feed, increased 6% to 1.08 million metric tons.
USDA seeks public comments on Prime grading standard for beef
The Agriculture Department is seeking public input on whether its Prime grading standard should be updated.
The agency will take comments through Sept. 8 on whether it should act on a request from the American Wagyu Association to add marbling degrees above the current top of the Prime grade “to better characterize modern genetics, which are not always differentiated within the current marbling degrees,” according to a Federal Register notice.
Currently, USDA defines four degrees of marbling for Prime grade carcasses: Slightly Abundant, Moderately Abundant, Abundant and Very Abundant. However, Agricultural Marketing Service Associate Administrator Melissa Bailey said in the notice that carcasses grading as USDA Prime are “exhibiting a wider range of marbling degrees” than the current four.
Bailey also noted that the number of carcasses grading as USDA Prime grew from 6.2% to 12.2% between 2017 and 2025.
Final word
“The six nutrient management plans that we reviewed covered all nine minimum requirements under [EPA regulations], indicating that the EPA’s oversight offers reasonable assurance that the Ohio EPA’s NPDES permitting program verifies that CAFO nutrient management plans comply with that federal regulation.” – EPA’s Office of Inspector General in a report examining whether EPA was exercising proper oversight of Ohio’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program. A complainant had alleged EPA “was not appropriately overseeing Ohio’s implementation of the NPDES permitting program for [concentrated animal feeding operations] or verifying that NPDES-permitted CAFOs applied manure and process wastewater in accordance with approved nutrient management plans.”
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