As demand for ethanol has increased, the number of ethanol plants in the U.S. has quadrupled since 1999. A USDA report says the growth in the number of ethanol plants has been driven by the Renewable Fuels Standard, which was first enacted in 2005. The initial increase in plant numbers after 2005 led to some plants not producing at their full potential because supply grew faster than demand. However, since 2011, the number of plants has remained steady, allowing production numbers to increase as plants utilize their maximum production capacity. As of last year, the USDA report says plants have been operating at 97 percent capacity. That translates into more than 15 billion gallons of ethanol production. Such a high number would normally mean demand for more new plants. However, the limitation on the amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline in existing vehicles is basically 10 percent. When you add in lower gasoline consumption because of greater vehicle efficiency and fewer miles driven, domestic demand for ethanol is further limited in expansion ability. Thanks to these limitations, additional domestic production is intended for export markets.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue presented the findings of the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to President Donald Trump during a ceremony at the American Farm Bureau national convention. Back in April, Trump signed an executive order establishing the task force to “ensure the informed exercise of regulatory authority that impacts rural communities.” Perdue served as Chair of the task force, which came up with over 100 recommendations to help improve life in rural America. The recommendations all centered around five areas, including e-connectivity, quality of life, rural workforce, technology, and economic development. Perdue says, “While the task force worked tirelessly to identify solutions to the problems plaguing our rural communities, there is more work ahead. No doubt, rural America has struggled under burdensome regulations with no voice in Washington.” He adds that under President Trump’s leadership and the work of the task force, it can be turned around so rural prosperity is restored once and for all.

A California man was arrested in Texas last month after being suspected of investment fraud, embezzlement and cattle theft. Drovers Cattle Network reports Justin Tyler Greer, 36, is suspected of defrauding seven victims out of $1.5 million. The investigation began in June 2017 when the victims claimed to be coming up hundreds of head short. Investigators say cattle owned by investors were illegally sold and moved to Colorado and Wyoming. A California law enforcement official called the scheme “21st Century cattle rustling and embezzlement at the highest level.” Greer managed cattle owned by ranchers in California, Wyoming and Colorado, and allegedly failed to meet finical obligations in April and May, raising flags for his customers. The U.S. Forest Service is also investigating the case of the cattle in Wyoming in a parallel criminal investigation because cattle were being grazed without the proper permits.

Organic milk sales are dropping, but sales of so-called plant-based milk are rising. The Wall Street Journal reports organic milk sales fell 2.5 percent in 2017, slightly less than traditional white milk that fell 4.5 percent. Plant-based milks rose 2.9 percent in sales. However, the largest gains in milk sales were seen by specialty milk which would include products like lactose-free. Organic milk prices fell from roughly $40 per hundredweight in 2016 to $27 in 2017. Organic dairy processors are looking for new ways to move the product. Company officials at Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic dairy cooperative, expects prices to stabilize in 2018 and hopefully improve in 2019, but did not expect the market to take its recent turn. Meanwhile, farmers who spoke with the Wall Street Journal said the market conditions were tough to deal with, and one was even culling dairy cows to adjust.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts says President Donald Trump “really listened to our concerns” regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement. During a meeting between lawmakers and the President last week, Roberts says he “delivered the message that farmers and ranchers need to grow export markets and maintain our status as a reliable supplier.” A White House statement mentioned Trump was “glad to speak” with the group of senators regarding trade policy priorities that both Trump and the Senate will be focusing on in 2018. That focus, according to the White House, includes securing more equitable trade deals, increasing exports, and ensuring fair treatment of U.S. industries. The meeting featured six Republican Senators, including Missouri’s Roy Blunt, South Dakota’s John Thune, Colorado’s Cory Gardner, North Dakota’s John Hoeven and Dan Sullivan of Alaska. The next round of NAFTA negotiations is set for January 23rd, in Canada.

A large portion of the nation’s winter wheat crop lacks a protective layer of snowcover and meteorologists are saying the recent deep freeze is doing some damage. Snow cover is adequate in the northern plains and the northern Midwest. However, an Agriculture Dot Com article says the snow cover is very thin in the central and southern plains as well as the southern-most parts of the Midwest. Donald Keeney is a senior agricultural meteorologist for Radiant Solutions who says widespread winterkill likely occurred on Monday, January first. His report says winterkill likely occurred in much of southeast Colorado and Kansas, as well as central Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwestern Indiana. “Damage occurred in about a quarter of the hard-red wheat belt in the central plains, with about five percent of the soft-red wheat belt in the Midwest seeing some impact too,” says Keeney. Experts at Kansas State University say the winter wheat crop has the best chance of surviving a deep freeze in December, January, and early February. However, with the combination of little-to-no snow cover and brutally-cold temps, that means there likely will be at least some winterkill.

Attorneys General in 11 states have filed a brief in support of a preliminary injunction that multiple Ag organizations are seeking against California’s Prop 65. Additionally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the California Chamber of Commerce have also filed briefs in support of the injunction. Even though there is no scientific evidence to support Prop 65, it requires that any products possibly containing dicamba to bear what the groups call a “false and misleading label.” Gordon Stoner, President of the National Association of Wheat Growers, says he’s pleased that the attorneys general from several states across the nation have stood up for agriculture and consumers against the unconstitutional action. “California’s flawed Prop 65 regulation will cause irreparable harm to the agricultural economy and impact farmers and ranchers everywhere. Our coalition of support for the injunction is growing with the addition of these attorneys general and the national and California Chambers of Commerce.” The states included in the brief include Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The Arkansas State Plant Board, as well as the board’s pesticide committee, made no changes to its proposed regulations on dicamba use in the state. An Arkansas Department of Agriculture spokesperson says, “The board met on Wednesday to consider a request from a subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council to reconsider its recommendations on ‘scientific-based evidence,’ as well as creating northern and southern zones in the state, and ambient temperature and humidity as they relate to nighttime temperature inversions.” Both the plant board and the committee voted in favor of retaining the recommendations as they are currently written. The current recommendations prohibit the application of dicamba-based herbicides after April 15th of this year. However, according to Arkansas policy, the discussion isn’t done yet as the rule-making process in Arkansas is a little more complicated than many other states. The proposed regulations once again will head to the Administrative Rules and Regulations Subcommittee for consideration on January 16th.