One U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee member is not optimistic the Trans-Pacific Partnership will pass Congress. Senate Democrat Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota is a proponent of trade, but says in regards to TPP “I think it’s going to be a challenge.” Her comments come despite a plan by the Obama Administration to send the agreement to Congress soon. North Dakota farmers stand to benefit from the trade agreement through agricultural exports. However, Politico reports as a result of the campaign-influenced climate in Congress, Heitkamp says: “I don’t hold out a lot of hope that we can get TPP done — but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be wrong.”

Trade negotiators representing Vietnam say the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement is not open to renegotiation, pushing back against calls from select U.S. politicians that say the deal needs amended to their liking. Bloomberg reports a Vietnam trade official said the agreement strikes the best possible balance among the interests of the deal’s 12 members. Amid election-year politics, several lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have said they will note vote for TPP. Further, both candidates for President have taken stabs against the trade deal, putting approval in jeopardy. The Obama Administration is expected to send a bill that would authorize the trade agreement to Congress following the November elections.

Beef exporters from the United States continue to increase market share in Japan as they battle with exporters from Australia. Global Meat News reports shipments of U.S. beef to Japan rose 12 percent in volume and five percent in value to $707.2 million over the first six months of the year. The increase comes despite the preferred beef from Australia which benefits from more favorable tariffs. U.S. producers, in line with other suppliers, face a 38.5 percent tariff rate on beef exports to Japan. Australian producers pay a 30.5 percent tariff on chilled beef and 27.5 percent for frozen, thanks to the Japan­Australia Economic Partnership Agreement, which went into effect at the start of 2015. Japan is one of the world’s leading importers of beef.

Agriculture groups made their pitch on policy to Republican candidate for President Donald Trump last week, after sitting down two months ago with the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The American Soybean Association said the groups used the meeting to highlight “several big, broad policy areas as examples of matters deserving attention during the election, including agricultural trade, food safety, farm bill and crop insurance programs, ag labor, infrastructure and the importance of science-based regulatory policy.” The groups met with the Clinton Campaign in June. Other organizations represented in the meeting include the American Farm Bureau Federation, commodity groups representing soybeans, corn, cotton and wheat, and the National Farmers Union, among others.

The four major U.S. corn syrup makers are raising prices at a time of slowing demand. Corn sweetener manufacturers like Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill sent letters to customers earlier this month that were obtained by Reuters, and seek to lock in prices for 2017. High-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, is trading at the highest in U.S. Department of Agriculture records dating back to 1994, even as U.S. consumption of carbonated soft drinks, which accounts for two-thirds or more of HFCS usage, sank to a three-decade low. The corn syrup manufacturers, which make up the Corn Refiners Association, are seeking to raise prices by a minimum of $1.50 to $2.50 per hundredweight, down from increases of $3.50 to $4.50 last year. The companies, according to the letters, were seeking to wrap up contracts extending into 2017 by the end of August. Reuters says higher prices have prompted some food makers to consider shifting to sugar, especially beet sugar, which is generally cheaper than cane sugar. Food manufacturers are also facing growing consumer demand for so-called clean label products that are free of ingredients such as HFCS, according to industry analysts.

Fortune Magazine reported last week that President Barack Obama still has a shot at passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. It remains to be a longshot, however, as Congressional leaders claim the agreement does not have enough support to pass Congress. New research suggests Republicans in Congress are turning sour on trade agreements, while some Rust Belt Democrats have indicated they may support Donald Trump in the presidential election because Hillary Clinton has previously supported TPP and NAFTA. International trade lawyer Alan Wolff writes that the majority of Americans support free trade, citing a Pew Research Center survey taken in March. The survey found 51 percent of Americans say free trade agreements are good, versus 39 percent against them. Wolff charges Congress with not representing the will of the majority of citizens who approve of TPP. President Obama is expected to send the agreement to Congress following the November elections. However, time in the lame-duck session is limited. Lame-duck sessions typically last about a month.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met with new and beginning farmers at Iowa State University this week. While there, the Secretary announced an investment of $17.8 million for several projects that educate and enhance the sustainability of future farmers in America. The average age of the American farmer is 58 years-old, so the U.S. Department of Agriculture is addressing the need to bring new farmers into the business. USDA has engaged its resources to provide new farmers improved access to land, credit and equipment. USDA is also extending crop insurance specifically designed to benefit new farmers. USDA programs have helped young farmers save over $14 million in costs and fees, according to the agency.

The Environmental Protection Agency released its draft report on ecological risks of atrazine in June of this year as part of its re-registration process for the herbicide. If the assessment recommendations are allowed to stand, farmers would essentially lose access to atrazine, and that would cost farmers a lot of money. The National Corn Growers Association says the EPA report could cost the industry up to $2.5 billion in yield losses and increased production costs, all at a time when incomes are down sharply. A 2012 University of Chicago study showed that farming without atrazine would cost farmers an extra $59 per acre. That’s a large boost in costs when farm incomes have dropped 55 percent in the past two years. A jump in costs that high would not only affect producers but would have ramifications across the entire agribusiness industry. NCGA First Vice President Wesley Spurlock of Texas is urging farmers to contact the EPA and voice their concerns. Atrazine has been a mainstay of corn, sorghum, and sugar cane farmers for 50 years, and some of the toughest weeds are resistant to other herbicides but not to atrazine.