A federal judge in Kansas has allowed a lawsuit filed by farmers against Syngenta to move forward as a class action lawsuit. Farmers from the U.S. sued Syngenta in 2014 after grain shipments to China were rejected because of an unapproved genetically engineered trait was found. The trait, Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera, was unapproved for import by China. Farmers who did not plant Viptera corn claimed they suffered losses when the rejections disrupted trade and dragged down corn prices. It is estimated by the plaintiffs that U.S. corn producers lost between $5-7 billion in current and future revenue because China stopped importing U.S. corn at the time. An attorney appointed to represent the farmers says the ruling “will make it easier and less expensive for farmers to pursue their claims against Syngenta.” Syngenta says it is not responsible for the losses and may appeal the District Court’s decision.

Republican U.S. Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas this week introduced a bill in the U.S. House intended to help farmers save for disasters and difficult times. Crawford says the Farm Risk Abatement and Mitigation Election Act would give farmers the option of taking disaster preparedness into their hands. The FRAME Act would establish tax-deferred farm savings accounts that farmers could withdraw from during difficult times without waiting for disaster declarations and government assistance. He says the accounts would work much like an IRA or Health Savings Account and would give farmers the option of investing. To encourage initial investment, farmers would be eligible to write-off FRAME Account contributions on their tax bill. Contributions would be tax deductible up to $50,000 per year, and farmers would retain 10 percent of their contributions as a tax credit during the first few years after opening the account. The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration.

The Department of Agriculture may have to wait until later this year to receive funding for the congressionally mandated study on electronic GMO labeling. Politico reports USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said this week the funding would not be in the continuing resolution that was passed by the Senate Wednesday afternoon. The study was mandated as part of the GMO labeling bill passed by Congress this summer. Congress also set a deadline of two years for the study and the GMO labeling rules that USDA must craft. Vilsack said “it’s important for us to figure out a way to get this started” to meet the timeline Congress intended for GMO labeling. The mandatory labeling bill allows for scannable codes on food packaging that directs consumers to label information online through a smartphone.

The U.S. Grains Council and the Renewable Fuels Association expressed disappointment Wednesday with China’s preliminary determination regarding U.S. dried distiller’s grains. The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China claims DDGs are being unfairly subsidized by U.S. government entities and have caused injury to China’s DDGs industry. The groups say the announcement was not a surprise, but challenge that “U.S. DDGs have not caused any injury to China.” The groups say DDGs play an important role in protecting Chinese feed producers and households against unpredictable swings in global commodity prices. The groups say “we will continue cooperating fully with these investigations” and hope China “will find in its final determination that continued access for U.S. DDGs is in China’s interest.”

Trade leaders from Canada and China have signed a trade agreement that supports canola exports to China. Canola is Canada’s second-largest export and top agricultural export to China, according to World Grain News. Canada’s Prime Minister and China’s Premier agreed on a memo that outlines “stable and predictable trade” for exports of Canola to China. The agreement allows uninterrupted canola trade between Canada and China through 2020. The agreement stems from blackleg disease that affects canola in Canada and China’s concern of the disease entering the nation through exports. The agreement ensures the two countries will work together to prevent blackleg disease from entering China. The two nations also signed a protocol to expand market access for frozen bone-in beef from Canada and have also advanced several key initiatives to support trade in pork, bovine genetics and some processed foods.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton talked trade as one of the topics of the first Presidential debate on Monday night. Trump accused Clinton of supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation deal supported by American agricultural groups. Trump accused Clinton of secretly supporting the TPP, noting that she once described TPP as “the gold standard of trade deals.” Trump also called the North American Free Trade Agreement one of the “worst deals in history.” Clinton insisted she was opposed to TPP and noted that she voted against the Central America Free Trade Deal while in the Senate. She also argued that trade is critical to the U.S. economy, saying “We are five percent of the world’s population and we have to trade with the other 95 percent.” An Agri-Pulse report says Trump also accused Clinton of wanting to expand the Obama Administration’s regulatory agenda, saying she would “Regulate businesses out of existence.” Clinton said her economic plan would “cut regulations and streamline them for small businesses” but didn’t say how.

The annual Fall Marketbasket survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows lower retail food prices compared to the same time last year. The survey released Monday showed an eight percent decrease, or four dollars in price, to total $49.70. The marketbasket survey features 16 common food items including eggs, whole milk, cheddar cheese, chicken breast, sirloin tip roast and ground chuck. Of the 16 products, 13 in all decreased in price while just three increased in average price. Egg prices saw the most significant price drop, down 51 percent compared with last year. Farm Bureau’s John Newton says that is because egg production is recovering well from the 2014 avian influenza outbreak. Prices for bagged salad, apples and potatoes all increased. Newton says apple prices are higher because of dry conditions in apple growing areas, and salad prices are up because of lower output by farmers in California and Arizona.