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Under pressure from rural lawmakers, House Democratic leaders are expected to ensure USDA can continue making trade assistance payments to farmers after the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1.

House Democratic leaders are aiming to push through a stopgap spending bill this week after threatening a fight with the White House, and potentially with some of their own rural members, over a plan that could jeopardize farmers’ trade aid payments.

China has resumed new purchases of U.S. soybeans as physical exports continue, according to USDA.

China is planning to lift tariffs on U.S. pork and soybeans ahead of high-level talks between the two countries, but it remains unclear how steep the tariff cuts will be, according to U.S. ag groups and Chinese government-run media outlets.

House Democrats are considering a stopgap spending bill that could prevent or slow delivery of President Trump's trade aid payments to farmers after the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

House Democrats are poring over a letter from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on proposed fixes for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said Thursday he’s preparing a response to send back Thursday or Friday.

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service lowered its production estimates for corn, soybeans and cotton, bumping corn down to 13.8 billion bushels and soybeans to 3.63 billion bushels, which each represent 1% declines from the August estimate.

U.S. dry whey, a key component in swine feed, is just one of the 16 U.S. commodities the Chinese Finance Ministry will exclude from tariffs beginning Sept. 17, according to a Wednesday announcement.

Lawmakers return from their extended summer recess facing pressure from farm groups to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and staring at an Oct. 1 deadline to pass a stopgap spending bill and avoid another government shutdown.