The Donald Trump Administration appears to be planning to reexamine the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement after the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations, if not sooner. Politico reports that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer this week formally requested talks with South Korea to consider changes to the five-year-old deal, with a focus on reducing the $28 billion bilateral trade deficit. However, it remains unlikely at this point that any talks surrounding KORUS will take place on the same scale as the upcoming renegotiation of NAFTA. Congress has already warned the White House that it needs to follow formal procedures under the 2015 trade promotion authority law if it wants to make major changes to the pact — including by giving Congress 90 days’ notice of its intention to renegotiate and consulting with lawmakers on negotiating objectives. The administration is currently going through that process to begin renegotiating NAFTA. 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.

Nebraska Agriculture Director Greg Ibach is said to be in the running for a top post at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Politico reports that several unnamed sources say Ibach is being considered, which would put yet another Midwestern farmer at the top of the department. Ibach has led the Nebraska Agriculture Department since 2005. Politico speculates that Ibach is most likely in the running for undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, which oversees the Agricultural Marketing Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey and Indiana Agriculture Director Ted McKinney are reported to be in the running for the newly created undersecretary posts for domestic farm services and trade, respectively. Also, Iowa economist Sam Clovis, a longtime Trump ally, is said to be the pick for the undersecretary for research, education and economics.

A new study claims the North American Free Trade Agreement has drastically changed the Canadian diet by boosting consumption of high-fructose corn syrup. The peer-reviewed study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that as tariffs on high-fructose corn syrup dropped over a four-year period, consumption grew from 21.2 calories of corn syrup per day in 1994 to 62.9 calories-per-day by 1998. The study linked the increase as a possible contributing factor to increasing obesity and diabetes rates over that time. The connection between free-trade agreements and health has not been well-studied, according to the study’s researchers, who say that to date, most research on globalization and nutrition has examined the effects of foreign direct investment: how consumption patterns change when multinational food companies, such as Coca-Cola, begin producing and advertising in new markets. Former U.S. Department of Agriculture chief economist Joe Glauber told the Washington Post that: “This connection between trade and nutrition is getting to be a very big question,” while cautioning that the research is in its early days. High fructose corn syrup is commonly used as a sweetener in soft drinks.

The recent World Agriculture Supply and Demand report by the Department of Agriculture projects corn and soybean farmers will grow more crop than previously anticipated. USDA on Wednesday increased 2017-18 corn production to an estimated 14.255 billion bushels and soybean production to 4.26 billion bushels. Corn production came in slightly above the highest pre-report estimates while soybean production came in higher than the pre-report average estimate as well, according to DTN-The Progressive Farmer. The farm price for the 2017-18 soybean crop was pegged at an average of $9.40 a bushel, a 10-cent bump from last month’s estimate. For corn, USDA estimated an average of $3.30 a bushel, down 10 cents from earlier estimates. USDA also raised All-Winter Wheat production to 1.279 billion bushels, up 29 million bushels from the June report estimate.

U.S. beef and pork exports had a strong month of May, increasing significantly from April as well as from 2016 levels. USDA statistics compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation show pork exports reached more than 222,000 metric tons. That’s an 11 percent year-over-year increase and the fourth largest monthly volume on record. Pork exports were valued at more than $583 million, up 16 percent. From January through May, exports were 14 percent higher than last year and 18 percent higher in value. Even with higher pork production, exports accounted for a larger share in 2017. May pork exports accounted for 29.4 percent of total production. May beef exports were six percent higher than last year, coming in at 105,321 metric tons. The retail value was nine percent higher at just over $582 million dollars. From January through May, beef exports were 12 percent higher in volume and up 16 percent in value compared to 2016. Beef exports accounted for 13 percent of total U.S. beef production.

Swine veterinarians from across the country are in Washington, D.C., this week to tell lawmakers about the consequences of a Foot-And-Mouth Disease outbreak in the nation’s herds. They’re urging lawmakers to establish an offshore vaccine bank to help quickly control and eradicate the disease in the event of an outbreak. 23 veterinarians are making Capitol Hill visits as part of the Swine Veterinarian Public Policy Advocacy Program, put on by the National Pork Producers Council. The NPPC’s top goal in the 2018 Farm Bill is creating a robust FMD vaccine bank. FMD affects cloven-hoofed animals like cattle and pigs but it’s not a food safety or human health threat. Iowa State University experts point out an FMD outbreak in America would prompt other countries to shut off U.S. meat exports. That would create a surplus of meat on the domestic market that would cost the beef and pork industries a combined $128 billion over a ten-year span if producers couldn’t combat the disease through vaccination. The corn and soybean industries would lose $44 billion and $25 billion, respectively. Job losses across the economy would top 1.5 million.

18 agriculture groups representing the majority of production agriculture sent a letter to the Trump administration recommending it avoid placing restrictions on steel and aluminum imports. The groups are worried that such a move would negatively impact U.S. food and agriculture exports. The groups said in the letter that, “the aftermath of those restrictions could be disastrous for the global trading system and U.S. agriculture in particular.” The letter points out that many of those countries exporting steel and aluminum are also the same countries that import a large amount of U.S. agricultural goods. The letter stresses that “potential retaliation from those trading partners is very real.” The 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade says national security can be a reason to restrict trade but is rarely done. The organizations point out that no other country can dictate what another’s national security needs are. “Now, every country with a sensitive industry would know it could follow the example of America and find a national security reason to circumvent trade agreements, no matter how flimsy the reason,” they said. The farm groups urged the administration to “avoid igniting a trade war” through the imposition of restrictions on steel and aluminum imports.

The continued surge of a piglet-killing virus in Canada is starting to threaten a share of pork supplies in the U.S. Fifty cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDv, have been confirmed in Manitoba between May 1 and July 4th. The virus has affected over 63,000 sows at hog operations in southeast Manitoba, Canada’s third biggest pork producer. Bloomberg says some U.S. brokers have already quit taking shipments from Canada because of the outbreak. The virus causes diarrhea and vomiting. While older animals typically recover from the virus, mortality rate in young piglets can be as high as 100 percent. A recent U.S. outbreak back in the winter of 2013-2014 killed millions of animals, sending pork prices to record highs. Canada’s veterinarian service is still allowing pigs without the virus to be shipped south into the U.S. The latest outbreak is estimated to have cut production by as much as 200,000 piglets, with roughly half of that number ending up in U.S. barns.

Syngenta has reached a confidential settlement with a Nebraska farmer who claims the company mishandled marketing of its genetically modified seed, which in turn caused corn prices to plummet. Bloomberg says a settlement heads off a trial that was to start this week. Terms of the settlement were not made public. It was just two weeks ago that Syngenta lost a jury verdict worth $218 million dollars because of a class action suit brought by Kansas farmers alleging similar claims against the company. Syngenta will next face a class action suit, which starts in August, up in Minnesota. Farmers there are seeking more than $600 million dollars. The farmers allege that Syngenta rushed its seed into the marketplace before getting approval from China to export the grain over there. China stopped bringing in shipments of corn in 2013, calling the grain shipments contaminated by the GMO seed. The farmers say that set off a five-year depression in corn prices. They also say Syngenta misled them on when China would approve the seed for import. Syngenta disputes the damage claims, saying it did nothing wrong. The company says it didn’t sell the seed until approved in the U.S. and didn’t need China’s approval to do so.

The Missouri and Arkansas Agriculture Departments both halted the sale and usage of dicamba in their respective states. Those two states have been in the middle of hundreds of misuse complaints. The Arkansas ban is effective for 120 days while the Missouri Ag Department would like to reinstate product usage this growing season after their investigation is concluded. The Missouri Soybean Association issued a statement saying over 200,000 acres of soybeans show at least some level of dicamba damage. The state’s soybean checkoff issued a statement saying it’s clear some type of action is necessary. Missouri Ag Director Chris Chinn said in a statement on the department’s YouTube channel that they’re actively working on the issue. “I’ve asked the makers of these approved, post emergent products and farmers to work with us to determine how we can expeditiously allow applications to resume this growing season,” she said in the video. Monsanto released a statement saying they’re complying with the order and they encourage all growers to do the same. The 120-day ban goes into effect at midnight on Tuesday, July 11th. Arkansas farmers have filed nearly 600 complaints in which dicamba is the suspected pesticide.