The 2015-2016 marketing year for corn and soybeans ended on August 31. The question is how much of each commodity was used during the marketing year? The USDA Quarterly Grain Stocks report on September 30 will reveal the total consumption of the two commodities and the amount of grain stocks available for use in the 2016-2017 marketing year. University of Illinois Ag Economist Darrell Good said available data is showing soybean consumption exceeding the 3.889 billion bushel forecast in the August World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report. Good reports that soybean consumption has exceeded the USDA’s August projection due to a strong pace of overseas exports. USDA predicted marketing year exports at 1.88 billion bushels. Good says based on current data, he’s predicting export use at 1.939 billion bushels, which is 59 million bushels more than what was projected and 97 million bushels more than the record-setting exports of the previous year.

The Farm Service Agency has reprogrammed $185 million dollars to help address a backlog of direct and guaranteed farm operating loan applications. The Hagstrom Report says that’s enough to service approximately 1,900 applications, but many farm groups say more money is needed. The funds were approved by Congress and will allow the agency to cover up to 30 percent of its expected shortfall before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. The FSA said some of its customers are experiencing challenges due to the current economic climate and have been waiting 60 days for approval. This funding is expected to help those applicants who have been waiting the longest to obtain credit or restructure loans. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said, “The reprogramming is greatly appreciated, but this will only alleviate approximately 30 percent of FSA’s budget shortfall. NFU has been in constant contact with members of Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding the need for additional credit.” Johnson said additional steps will be needed to address the backlog of applicants for FSA loans.

Both Bayer and Monsanto have confirmed that negotiations for the sale of Monsanto are continuing and a new offer has been made. Bayer has updated its proposal to a non-binding $127.50 per share in cash. Monsanto says it will continue its conversations with Bayer as it evaluates the offer, but it’s also considering other offers from other companies as well. A Dow Jones report said Monsanto did acknowledge the new offer and called current negotiations “constructive.” Bayer executives said the pharmaceutical giant’s potential acquisition of Monsanto would create a global firm with a deep selection of pesticides and help farmers be better positioned to grow food for an increasing worldwide population. Bayer has faced some concern from some shareholders who are worried that the potential Monsanto acquisition would take its focus away from its pharmacology work. Monsanto’s board unanimously rejected Bayer’s previous offer of $125 dollars share back in July as too low. While the current offer is $127.50 per share, analysts have said $135 to $140 dollars a share might be more realistic.

After months of improved farmer sentiment toward the Ag economy, things took a different turn in the August Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. Declining commodity prices weighed heaviest on farmer outlooks in August. The barometer index fell to 95 in the month of August, down from 112 in July. That represents the largest one month decline since November 2015. Farmer sentiment about the current economic climate and their future expectations both fell in August, which was a sharp contrast from July, when farmers were positive about their long-term prospects despite current economic concerns. Farmer outlooks were more positive after a spring rally in commodity prices, but near ideal growing conditions in most corn and soybean areas pushed prices sharply lower. The USDA forecast of another record harvest led to worries of increasing carryover stocks in both crops and the lowest corn prices in a decade. Tighter cash flow margins are causing farmers to lower their anticipated production costs. The survey also asked producers about anticipated 2017 input costs, and despite the low commodity prices, most producers actually anticipate their input costs increasing in 2017.

Wheat traders and the industry remain hopeful tight supplies of the commodity in India could provide a small boost to global prices, and a potential rebound from 10-years lows. Commodity traders expect India to increase international purchases significantly over the coming months as the nation’s wheat stocks are at decade lows, thanks to lower domestic production. India’s domestic prices for wheat are at record-high levels and could climb further this year. A wheat industry expert from India tells Reuters “the supply situation is getting very serious,” and that reviewing import policies may “be a viable and rational option to bridge the gap between demand and supply.” India has already bought near 600,000 metric tons of wheat this year, the most in nine years. But trade experts expect India to reduce or even abolish the 25 percent import tariff to make imports cheaper and ease a domestic supply squeeze.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada faces more opposition from an EU member country. Government officials in Austria are ready to confront the EU regarding Austria’s opposition because the agreement contains “many of the same problems as one being negotiated with the U.S.,” according to Reuters. The EU and the U.S. are embattled in negations of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which a trade official in Germany last month said talks on the deal had “de facto failed.” Combined with the political rhetoric in the U.S. against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, future global trade deals are on a shaky foundation, at best. In regards to TTIP and the Canada-EU deal, Austria reportedly has concerns the trade deals could compromise food safety standards. Political leaders in Austria also object to allowing companies to challenge government policies if a company feels regulations put create a disadvantage. The European Commission wants the Canada-EU trade deal approved by EU states before a planned EU-Canada summit at the end of October.

After a seven-week recess, Congress returns to session this week as many have little expectation lawmakers will accomplish much of anything with the November elections looming. Topping the discussion is likely to be the highly debated Zika virus funding, marred in a spat between Democrats and Republicans over last-minute additions to the bill. For agriculture, the wish list remains long regardless of the expectations. Farm groups plan to push support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which is expected to be sent to Congress after the elections in the lame-duck session. One need for Congress before the election is the passage of appropriation bills, including funding for the Department of Agriculture. However, the expectation again is Congress will pass a catch-all spending bill, known as a continuing resolution. Farm Groups are also trying to jumpstart discussions on the next Farm Bill, saying pressure from falling commodity prices and lower farm income is forcing the need to reassess Farm Bill programs sooner rather than later. Senators say however, those discussions seem much more likely next spring. Energy and tax incentive bills are also issues likely to see some action in the short session before lawmakers head back to the campaign trail.

Activist delivered a public complaint to Germany’s Constitutional Court this week in hopes to scuttle a trade agreement between the European Union and Canada. The activist called the complaint the “biggest ever” against a trade agreement. Many see the deal as a template for a potential EU-U.S. agreement, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The deal between the EU and Canada could increase trade between the two by 20 percent. However, many EU voters fear the agreement would give multinational corporations greater access to European markets without creating jobs, according to Reuters. Three groups opposing the deal delivered 70 boxes of documents with 125,000 signatures to the court this week. The groups argue the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement breaches Germany’s constitution, and want the court to stop implementation of the deal before its ratification by EU states.