USDA Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Undersecretary Alexis Taylor Monday launched an agribusiness trade mission to Japan. The U.S. delegation includes representatives from 11 state departments of agriculture, numerous farm organizations, and 40 agribusinesses looking to connect with future business partners in Japan.

Taylor says, “As one of the largest world economies, Japan is one of the top and most reliable trading partners for the United States.” Japan is one of the top and most reliable trading partners for the United States. Every year over the past two decades, Japan has imported at least $10 billion worth of U.S. food and agriculture products, reaching a record-high $14.6 billion in 2022. Throughout the week, USDA will help facilitate business-to-business meetings between participating small and medium-sized U.S. agribusinesses and Japanese buyers seeking to import American food and farm products.

The trade mission itinerary also includes meetings with Japanese and local government officials and industry groups to discuss trade issues and unique opportunities.

Noble Research Institute Monday announced the launch of its Essentials of Regenerative Ranching program. The effort is designed to help ranchers monitor and improve the health of their land, livestock and livelihood.

Essentials provides producers with practical tools, hands-on experience and guidance to break free from the cycle of high inputs and low returns. Farmers and ranchers navigate uncertainty from weather, fluctuating market prices and skyrocketing inputs. Many producers seek new skills and tools that offer greater control and reduce operational uncertainty. While regenerative ranching can help mitigate or avoid some of these issues altogether, ranchers may struggle to find reliable information about implementation or fail to receive support needed for lasting success.

In response, Noble Research Institute designed Essentials of Regenerative Ranching to offer farmers and ranchers guidance in using core principles and proven monitoring methods. The first in-person training will be offered July 11-12, 2023, at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. Registration is open now at www.noble.org/.

For more than 50 years, thousands of FFA members from across the country have converged in our nation’s capital each summer to engage with legislators, hone civic engagement and leadership skills, and create community impact projects to take back to their cities and towns.

National FFA Organization members are in Washington, D.C., this week as part of the National FFA Organization’s Washington Leadership Conference. The more than 50-year tradition brings thousands of FFA members to Washington, D.C., to interact with legislators, hone civic engagement and leadership skills, and create community impact projects. More than 2,000 FFA members from throughout the country are expected to attend the 2023 conference. FFA members will spend the week under the guidance of agricultural and leadership professionals, facilitators, and FFA staff.

FFA members will also have the unique opportunity to participate in congressional visits with legislators from their states during the week. Members can share concerns and challenges from their communities and discuss agricultural-related legislation.

New Data from USDA’s Economic Research Service shows foods labeled “natural” accounted for slightly more than 16 percent of consumer retail food purchases in 2018.

USDA and the Food and Drug Administration require producers to adhere to specific standards or processes to use certain label claims, such as USDA Organic. The “natural” claim, however, has minimal requirements and using the claim on a food product’s packaging does not require that the product provide any health or environmental benefits. Regulatory agencies treat the claim as meaning nothing artificial was added, and the product was minimally processed. Even so, consumers sometimes attribute benefits to products labeled “natural,” research studies show.

The share of products labeled “natural” varies by food category. The share of spending on “natural” products in 2018 was highest for dairy products, at 27.7 percent, and lowest for fruits and vegetables, at 5.9 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

The National Milk Producers Federation applauds USDA for proposing its “Action Plan” for a national hearing based on NMPF’s proposal to modernize Federal Milk Marketing Orders.

The federation looks forward to the next phase of creating a federal order system that better reflects today’s market conditions and dairy producer needs. “We’re grateful USDA recognizes the comprehensive nature of our proposal and are looking forward to it being considered in full because the whole of our plan adds up to more than the sum of its parts,” says NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We held more than 150 meetings and wide consultation across dairy producers and the entire industry in coming up with our plan.”

The agency says the action plan may include a tentative hearing start date of August 23, 2023. The USDA received the federation’s formal proposal to amend the pricing provisions of all 11 FMMOs on May 2.

The second-corn crop harvest is getting underway in South America. Dr. Michael Cordonnier, an agronomist with Soybean and Corn Advisor, says things are just starting to ramp up in Brazil.

Dr. Cordonnier says; “They’re maybe one or two percent harvested for the safrinha corn in Brazil. But the big news, I think, is the safrinha corn had a very good week. There was widespread rain across South Central Brazil. Amounts were one-to-three inches. Heaviest amounts were in Mato Grosso do Sul and very beneficial for the late-planted safrinha corn. Now, the crop still needs to be frost-free until about the end of June, but these rains helped. And I’ll be increasing my Brazil corn estimate due to this very good rain system they had in South Central Brazil.”

Some of the corn got planted late due to a delayed soybean harvest. He says farmers will be keeping an eye out for frost. He says; “There will be a threat that it could still be hurt by frost, maybe until early July, but that won’t be very much. But every week without a frost is a little bit closer to the end. So, everybody’s been increasing their estimates now for this Brazilian corn crop. The yields up in Mato Grosso are good. They had good rains, and that’s the big state, of course. They’re almost half the total production, so the area that got to rain now is Parana, the number two state for safrinha corn, and Mato Grosso do Sul, which is the number four state, and the number two state is Goias, so it’s been a good event.”

Farmers in Mato Grosso are struggling with skyrocketing freight rates to get their corn to Brazilian ports.

Dr. Cordonnier; “If you did not forward-contract your corn, you’re probably gonna lose money on your safrinha corn production. Right now, the interior price is right at maybe the break-even point, and you better hope you got a good crop because it’s very expensive to transport it. And a lot of people are saying I may not grow as much safrinha crop next year unless the price is a whole lot better.”

The soybean harvest in Argentina is almost wrapped up as well; “The soybeans right now are 87 percent harvested, and the corn is 29. It’s been getting a lot of rain. They’re working on the soybeans if any sat up. Corn harvest only advanced like two percent this past week. The corn has not gone down production-wise in the last couple of weeks. Although the soybeans, we have been going down on the soybeans. The soybeans just had a terrible year, and they never had the chance to recuperate. The corn kind of did okay, way down from last year, but not as bad as the soybeans.”

For more information, go to soybeansandcorn.com.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) — On Friday, it was announced the the U.S. Trade Representative is filing a trade dispute under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) over Mexico’s impending ban on GMO corn from the U.S.

Under the agreement, once a dispute settlement gets filed, a group of objective experts will hear the case and make a final determination based on the commitments of both parties under the free trade agreement. USTR Katherine Tai says Mexico’s measures are inconsistent with several of its obligations in the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Market Access chapters of the agreement. “The USMCA was written to ensure that all producers in the three countries have full access to each other’s markets,” says Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Below is industry reaction; stay tuned as we continue to follow this breaking news story:

Corn Growers Praise Move by U.S. Trade Representative to Initiate Dispute Settlement with Mexico Over Corn Decree

The U.S. Trade Representative announced today that it is filing a dispute settlement under the U.S.- Mexico-Canada Agreement in response to the steps Mexico has taken to ban biotech corn for human consumption.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), which along with affiliated state associations, has been leading calls for the Biden administration to act, praised the development.

“Mexico’s actions, which are not based on sound science, have threatened the financial wellbeing of corn growers and our nation’s rural communities,” said NCGA President Tom Haag. “We are deeply appreciative of Ambassador Katherine Tai and USTR for moving this process forward and thankful for the efforts of Secretary Tom Vilsack and members of Congress for standing up for farmers in such a meaningful way.”

Under USMCA, once a dispute settlement is filed, a group of objective experts will be empaneled to hear the case and make final determinations based on the commitments both parties signed as part of the free trade agreement.

The dispute stems from a 2020 decree by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that sought to ban imports of biotech corn beginning in January 2024. Mexico issued a revised decree in February of this year that banned biotech corn for human consumption effective immediately, and left the door open for a future ban on biotech corn for feed.

Mexico is a top market for corn, the number one agricultural export from the U.S., which has led to strong concerns over how the ban would impact U.S. farmers, rural economies and food security for the people of Mexico.

Given the high stakes, NCGA and corn grower leaders across the country began sounding the alarm last fall and have been calling on the Biden administration to initiate a dispute settlement under USMCA.

Statement by Secretary Vilsack Regarding USMCA Dispute Settlement Consultations Request on Mexico’s Agricultural Biotechnology Measures

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2023 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack issued the following statement regarding today’s announcement by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) that the United States has requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). These consultations are in regard to Mexico’s agricultural biotechnology policies.

“USDA supports success for all farmers, and that means embracing fair, open, science- and rules-based trade. In this spirit, the USMCA was written to ensure that producers in all three countries have full and fair access to each other’s markets,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “We fundamentally disagree with the position Mexico has taken on the issue of biotechnology, which has been proven to be safe for decades. Through this action, we are exercising our rights under USMCA while supporting innovation, nutrition security, sustainability, and the mutual success of our farmers and producers.”

Today’s announcement is the latest action USDA and USTR have taken to address the United States’ concerns with Mexico’s biotechnology policies. In March, USDA and USTR requested technical consultations with Mexico under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Chapter of the USMCA.

The Environmental Protection Agency is still considering including eRINS in its final Renewable Volume rule the agency’s required by court order to issue by the middle of the month. But two Senators are leading the charge to stop that from happening.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator John Cornyn of Texas are sponsoring a bill to head off the EPA plan to cover eRINS from biogas projects like anaerobic digesters that make renewable electricity for EVs. Grassley; “The current eRINS proposal is another way to prop up the EV industry while lowering the value of RINS for ethanol and biodiesel. And you know what that does to the biofuels industry.”

Something Grassley says the Renewable Fuels Standard never intended; “It’s clear that the RFS was written to support homegrown biofuels, not Chinese-produced batteries.”

Prompting Grassley to join with an oil-patch Senator to oppose the plan. Grassley; “Senator Cornyn and I, as a result of what the administration’s doing, introduced a bill to preserve the Renewable Fuels Standard and prevent another handout to the EV manufacturers. We’ve heard rumors that the administration is waking up, finally, might be pulling the eRINS proposal because of the bill.”

But Grassley says the EPA says it may still include eRINS in future Renewable Volume rules.

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow of Michigan was pleased that the Senate voted to pass the bipartisan bill to avoid a debt default, calling it critical for our economy and families.

“I’m pleased this agreement protects the important steps that we’ve taken over the last two years to rebuild America, bring jobs home, lower the costs of health care, and tackle the climate crisis,” Stabenow says. Stabenow also says she’s deeply disappointed by the changes that were agreed to in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “As the Ag, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chair, I intend to produce a bipartisan farm bill that protects critical nutrition and food assistance programs for all Americans,” she said. “And as far as I’m concerned, the work requirements issue is settled for this Congress.”

She intends to in no way further erode the dignity of Americans who need roughly $6 a day to buy food.

A bipartisan group of congressional members is asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to prioritize ethanol export competitiveness and address unfair import tariffs Brazil has in place on U.S. ethanol.

The letter, signed by 21 members, highlighted the importance of biofuel and ethanol production for rural communities throughout the country. Recently announced import tariffs by Brazil on American ethanol would negatively impact American agriculture, which previously received duty-free treatment from Brazil. “We believe the tariff imbalance is unjustified and puts American ethanol and farmers at risk,” the letter says. “We strongly urge you to prioritize American ethanol export competitiveness in the Brazilian market by addressing these unfair policies.”

The letter also says should Brazil’s unfair treatment continue, the lawmakers then stand ready to work with Tai to consider measures that protect American farmers and biofuel producers to help counter these unfair trade practices. Brazil’s tariff was reinstated on February 1.