The Department of Agriculture Monday extended the deadline to May 17 from May 1 for producers to certify 2018 crop production for payments through the Market Facilitation Program. The trade relief program payments will be issued only if eligible producers certify acres before the updated May 17 deadline.

Farm Service Agency Administrator Richard Fordyce says the deadline was moved because rainfall and snowfall have delayed harvests in many parts of the country, preventing producers from certifying acres. The program helps producers who have been significantly affected by foreign tariffs, resulting in the loss of traditional exports, according to USDA.

MFP provides payments to producers of corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, dairy, hogs, fresh sweet cherries and shelled almonds. To date, more than $8.3 billion has been paid to nearly 600,000 applicants. Producers can certify production by contacting their local FSA office or through farmers.gov.

Ag industry lobbyists tell Politico that the industry appears to have come together to reach consensus on a potential fix to the shortage in farm labor. The lobbyists tell Politico that the potential fix would give workers a path to legalization for farm laborers currently in the country. It would also expand the H-2A foreign guest worker program to help make it easier for farmers to find the help they need to run their operations.

Multiple lobbyists say those are the two elements that would help the potential fix win support from all segments of agriculture. Different segments of agriculture have been sharply divided in recent years on how to fix the labor shortage. Ag groups that lobby in Congress say organizations ranging from fruits and vegetables to dairy are more together on the issue than they’ve ever been in the past.

Lawmakers, who return this week from Easter break, are in the beginning stages of negotiating legislation. Discussions in the House will likely pick up steam soon. “We’re hopeful for some sort of grand bargain and that our labor needs are addressed,” says Nick Giordano, VP of Government Affairs for the NPPC. “However, we know the odds are long.”

U.S. Grains Council staff members recently made a long trip to Saudi Arabia with the goal of promoting sorghum and other products to buyers and other end-users in the country. As the Saudi government continues to revise its subsidy rates, that could lead to more opportunities for U.S. sorghum or corn imports used for animal feed.

Saudi Arabia purchased 11 million bushels of U.S. sorghum last year, as well as 16.5 million gallons of ethanol. Roughly 80 percent of the country’s poultry market is controlled by 15 farms and 85 percent of the Saudi dairy market is controlled by nine farms. An increasing number of animal feed rations in both industries are coming from imports.

The USDA’s Ag Trade Promotion Program is also expanding engagement for potential customers by promoting sorghum and DDGs in Saudi Arabia. Large Saudi importers and end-users will be traveling to a buyer’s conference in Europe this summer. Looking for feed supplies doesn’t end there as a team of Saudi buyers and end-users will also likely travel to the United States this fall.

House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson of Minnesota is leading a trade mission to Central and South America. The Hagstrom Report says the delegation is scheduled to make stops in Brazil, Argentina, and Honduras. They’ll meet with agriculture leaders from the public and private sectors of each country.

Patrick Delaney, the committee’s communications coordinator, says discussions will include the effects of the changes in U.S. trade policy. “This includes what openings the administration’s trade war has created for our competition in those countries,” Delaney says, “as well as how Chinese investment has increased the competitive capacity of South American producers.” Other discussions will cover ag trade issues that are important to each country.

In Honduras, the delegation members will meet with American service members stationed in that country. Peterson says Trump Administration officials had encouraged him to include that particular stop in Honduras. Delaney didn’t provide the names of other trade delegation members, preferring to leave it up to each member to discuss the trip when they return to the U.S.

The farmers share of the food dollar has reached an all-time low. For every dollar American consumers spend on food, U.S. farmers and ranchers earn just 14.6 cents, according to a report recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

This value marks a 17 percent decline since 2011 and the smallest portion of the American food dollar farmers have received since the USDA began reporting the data in 1993. The remaining 85.4 cents cover off-farm costs, including processing, wholesaling, distribution, marketing, and retailing. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says the data, among other economic conditions, shows “we are in the midst of an agricultural financial crisis.”

Johnson points out that conditions for farmers have been eroding since 2011, and “many have already made the heartbreaking decision to close up shop.” In the past five years, the United States lost upwards of 70,000 farm operations. Johnson is hopeful the report “will open policymakers’ eyes” to the financial challenges in agriculture.

Lawmakers return to Washington next week with a renewed industry push to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Following the International Trade Commission Report, few steps remain to reach implementation. Vice President Mike Pence touted the deal during a stop in Michigan this week, and a road tour from Farmers for Free Trade is crossing the country building support for passage of the agreement.

The ITC Report found the agreement will increase U.S. agricultural exports by $2.2 billion, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Trump administration must submit the final text of the agreement to Congress 30 days before it is formally introduced. The House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee may then take up to 45 days before introducing the bill to the full bodies of Congress.

The bill will be considered by the House first, followed by the Senate. Because of Trade Promotion Authority, the deal will be considered with no amendments on an up or down vote.

The U.S. and Japan are meeting again to wrap up the week in the second round of trade talks. Japan’s Economy Minister is meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Meanwhile, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to meet President Donald Trump Friday in Washington.

The negotiations continue to focus on reaching a quick agreement on agriculture and automobiles. The U.S. wants better access to Japan’s agricultural products market, as trade agreements between Japan and other nations have made products from other countries more lucrative to Japanese buyers.

Nearly 100 farm groups sent a letter to Lighthizer this week outlining the market loss U.S. producers are facing from competing trade agreements, including the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, the agreement Trump removed the U.S. from upon taking office. Just last week, the U.S. and Japan agreed to accelerate trade talks to reach a fast agreement.