Online source Axios reports that President Donald Trump told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to portray him as a “crazy guy” during the upcoming U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement meeting. South Korea will host the meeting with Lighthizer this week to discuss “ways to move forward” with KORUS. The meeting is the second on KORUS, following discussion between Korea and U.S. trade officials last month in Washington, D.C. In a conversation with cabinet members last month, Axios says Trump told Lighthizer “you’ve got 30 days,” to get conditions, or he would withdraw from the agreement. But, in the discussion, Trump went further, and said: “You tell them, ‘This guy’s so crazy he could pull out any minute.'” Trump followed up with “by the way, I might,” if the U.S. doesn’t get trade concessions from Korea. According to a USTR fact sheet, Korea is currently the fifth largest U.S. agricultural export market, with beef leading the way, followed by lemons, shelled almonds, cheese, cherries and wine and beer.

U.S. frozen beef exports to Japan are down 26 percent after Japan imposed an emergency tariff due to an influx of frozen beef from the United States. The tariff increased from 38.5 percent to 50 percent of the Japanese market, to protect domestic producers. Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports Japan’s frozen beef imports from the U.S. were 4,317 metric tons in August, down 26 percent year-over-year. However, the U.S. Meat Export Federation says it is possible that some of the August declines were due to additional product being ordered ahead of the duty rate increase. The July-August average was 9,816 metric tons per month, which is almost exactly the same as a year ago. Meanwhile, Japan’s August chilled beef imports from the U.S. were 13,721 metric tons, up 54 percent year-over year.

The North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation effort will return to Washington, D.C. this month for the fourth round of official talks. The negotiations will resume October 11th through the 15th, following a round of talks in Canada last month. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said progress was made in the most recent meetings “on a number of bread-and-butter trade issues.” Meanwhile, the U.S. has yet to introduce a proposal to increase protections for seasonal and perishable produce. The tabled issue is being closely watched by agriculture groups, Including the National Pork Producers Council, which says the proposal could provoke America’s NAFTA partners to push for mechanisms that make it easier to restrict U.S. farm exports. By U.S. law and official notices to Congress, the earliest a deal can be agreed upon and concluded is March of next year. But, Forbes speculates that would be too close to the midterm election cycle, as a comment period would extend into September 2018, even at the fastest pace, likely putting the potential final approval of a new NAFTA in 2019.

Current corn storage has swelled to levels not seen since the 1980’s, according to new data released by the Department of Agriculture. USDA released its quarterly Grain Stocks report Friday. The report shows that old-crop corn stocks have reached a 30-year record at 2.2 billion bushels. That number was 32 percent higher than last year, but still below the pre-report expectations from market analyst, according to DTN. USDA reports old-crop soybean ending stocks at 301 million bushels and wheat ending stocks at 2.2 billion bushels. The numbers are estimates by USDA of grain supplies as of September first, which marks the end of the 2016-17 marketing year. USDA also released its Small Grains Summary Friday, with the latest estimates of the 2017 wheat crop, which was pegged at 1.7 billion bushels.

Kansas Republican Representative Roger Marshall says families across the U.S. need the next farm bill. As part of a House Agriculture Committee video series, Marshall says there is “no single piece of legislation more important” to his district than the farm bill. Marshal represents District One of Kansas, one of the largest agricultural-driven districts in the nation. He says the farm bill helps in maintaining a safe and affordable food supply for all Americans. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway indicated at the beginning of August, that work on the 2018 Farm Bill would start within the next eight weeks, meaning that work should start early this month. Conaway has previously said that he wants to get the next farm bill on the House floor this year.

The Senate Agriculture Committee will consider the nomination of Bill Northey and Greg Ibach Thursday. Northey was nominated by the Trump administration to be the Department of Agriculture undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services. Meanwhile, Ibach was nominated to be undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. Northey is the current Iowa agriculture secretary, and Ibach is the Nebraska director of agriculture. The Senate Agriculture Committee confirmation for the two is Thursday, October 5th, at 9:30 am Eastern. The Committee has yet to vote on two other nominees, Steve Censky, the American Soybean Association CEO tapped to be deputy secretary and Indiana Agriculture Director Ted McKinney, nominated to be the first USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.

Organic farming is a rapidly growing segment of U.S. agriculture. Organic vegetables, fruits, and livestock make up the bulk of the entire segment. However, a new USDA report shows organic field crops are making gains in the number of acres planted and overall value. The National Ag Statistics Service released the numbers showing that U.S. farms and ranches produced $7.6 billion in certified organic commodities in 2016. That’s up 23 percent over the previous year. The number of certified organic farms also climbed 11 percent higher, coming in at 14,217 last year. The number of certified acres is up 15 percent to five million acres. Livestock marketed as organic can only consume feeds certified through the USDA’s organic program. That’s helping to drive organic production of corn, soybeans, and hay. The USDA report says about 7,400 farms planted 1.6 million acres of organic field crops and hay last year. The value of organic field crop sales totaled up to more than $762 million in 2016, more than $100 million dollars higher than in 2015. Organic corn had the most acres planted, totaling almost 214,000 acres last year.