Politics

RSS

Uncertainty about how schools will open this fall has elevated concerns that the food items and supplies the country’s 13,698 public school districts need could be difficult to come by.

U.S. corn and ethanol groups are celebrating a recent shipment to Mexico of gasoline with a 10% ethanol blend, but the fate of a more permanent acceptance of E10 in the country isn’t yet solidified as the government works to rewrite regulations to boost the legal blend rate.

A bipartisan group of 12 senators and 12 representatives signed a letter on Friday calling on the Department of Agriculture to move up the deadline for allowing producers to graze or harvest cover crops on prevented plant acres.

The Trump administration is under increased pressure to delay issuance of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s draft scientific report.

Ahead of a pair of congressional hearings, farm groups and agribusiness interests are urging President Donald Trump to give the Chinese time to fulfill their promises to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities.

There is continued uncertainty this week surrounding the use of dicamba herbicide. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wants to know by Tuesday why EPA decided to allow continued over-the-top use of dicamba on soybeans and cotton despite the court’s order vacating those registrations.

The Senate is set this week to pass a landmark land conservation bill over the objections of cattle producers, and President Donald Trump’s trade chief will face questioning by Senate and House panels.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced Friday he’s chosen Julie Callahan – an FDA and USDA alumnus – to work side-by-side with Ambassador Gregg Doud, representing the interests of the U.S. ag sector around the globe.

Chinese importers purchased enough U.S. soybeans this week to fill 11 Panamax-sized ships, signaling that the country is counting on the upcoming U.S. harvest to fulfill its needs in the final five months of the calendar year. The buyers are likely state-owned companies such as COFCO of Sinograin.

Chinese importers closed contracts to buy 720,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans – most of it for new crop – according to a USDA announcement Thursday, signaling the country is calculating the growing tightness of Brazilian supplies and locking in deliveries past September.