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President Donald Trump is blurring the lines between immigration and trade by continuing to threaten Mexico with tariffs for its border security policies. Ag sectors in both countries fear the lingering tensions may weigh heavily on their businesses as well as the fate of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Farmers in the waterlogged Midwest who are struggling to plant their corn or soybeans, and others who’ve given up and are deciding whether to buy seed for cover crops, still lack key information from USDA despite new guidance this week for its trade and disaster aid programs.

Farmers, who were unable to get into their soggy fields to plant corn due to record rainfall this spring, are not only faced with bags of seed they can't use, they are also looking for warm season cover crop seeds which may be difficult to find.

After several years of financial bleeding, dairy producers are expected to sign up in droves for the new Dairy Margin Coverage program, which this year is guaranteed to provide payments well in excess of the premiums farmers will pay.

Ethanol producers are hopeful for an increase in year-round E15 gasoline sales after the Trump administration okayed its summertime sale, but consumer demand will likely be modest due to fears of litigation, a lack of blender pumps, and challenges posed by some state regulations.

Farm sector exports and profits are down sharply as escalating tariffs choke off international trade. Yet one group is benefitting from the tariff wars: over 40 million food insecure Americans who struggle to buy groceries.