The U.S. Transportation Department recently approved travel to nine cities in Cuba and that should help agriculture. The Hagstrom Report says the move makes it easier for ag producers who want to sell to Cuba to travel there as many of the destination cities are important to agriculture. Flights could begin by early this fall. Havana isn’t one of the cities approved because airlines have requested 60 flights per day there, so the Transportation Department will have to select from among different proposals. A decision on the Havana routes could come late this summer. The DOT approved six carriers to fly to Cuba from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx signed a non-legally binding agreement in February to re-establish scheduled air service between the two countries.
Rising feed demand in China is expected to lift the nation’s soybean imports to another record this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. China’s 2016-2017 soybean crop is expected to total 12.5 million metric tons, up 900,000 from the year prior. Despite the increased domestic production, Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports the nation is still expected to boost soybean imports to another record of 85 million metric tons. That represents a three million metric ton difference from what USDA’s office in China expected shipments to total this marketing year. USDA says recovery in China’s swine production and growth in its poultry sector are projected to boost feed demand.
African flour millers from Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana are touring through wheat country this week. The team is traveling through Texas, Kansas, North Dakota and Minnesota to assess trade opportunities and U.S. wheat quality. The tour started Sunday and will wrap up next Friday. The U.S. Wheat Associates says bringing the team to see U.S. wheat quality and to discuss ways to keep their importing costs down is critical during a time of very aggressive competition. Throughout the tour, the team will meet with grain merchandisers and state wheat commissions, and visit farmers in each state to see the progress of this year’s crop.
Stockholders for Dow Chemical and DuPont will hold separate shareholder meetings next week to vote on the proposed merger between the two companies. Both meetings will be held on July 20th. DuPont’s meeting will take place at its Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters, and Dow Chemical’s meeting will be at its Midland, Michigan, offices. The two companies announced a merger in December worth more than $120 billion. Once completed, Dow and DuPont will split into three separate publicly traded companies focused on agriculture, material science and specialty products. The combined company would have about $90 billion in total revenue, based on 2014 numbers. If approved, the merger would mark the end as independent entities of two of America’s oldest corporations as DuPont was founded in 1802 and Dow started in 1897.
Monsanto has rejected a second attempt by Bayer AG to purchase Monsanto. The Wall Street Journal Reports a second offer, that did not offer more money, requested detailed business information, known as due diligence, which Bayer said could lead to a higher offer. Monsanto saw the offer as little changed compared to the $62 billion proposal Bayer originally offered. Monsanto is refusing to grant such access until Bayer raises its bid. Monsanto also asked for clarity on other matters including regulatory risks before agreeing to a deal. Bayer has secured the financing needed to complete the original proposal. The deal would combine Monsanto, the biggest seed provider with a leading position in biotech crop development, with Bayer, which has a robust lineup of pesticides but a smaller presence in major crops like corn and soybeans.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and ranking member Debbie Stabenow are still trying to find common ground on GMO labeling legislation this week. The debate continues as time dwindles ahead of the July first implementation date of the Vermont GMO labeling mandate. Roberts says progress was made last week, but several issues remain unresolved, according to Politico. One remaining argument, according to those familiar with the ongoing negotiations, is over what to do about processed foods that contain both meat and genetically modified crops like corn, soybeans and sugar from sugar beets. Foods in that category include products like pepperoni pizza. The livestock industry is pushing for such items to be exempt from labeling requirements, based on what appears to be an agreement that meat and dairy products from animals fed GMOs should be exempt.
The fiscal year Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill includes a provision that would stop new restrictions on fertilizer sales. North Dakota Democratic Senator John Hoeven says the bill moved out of committee on Thursday and would also stop the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from forcing agriculture retailers to comply with the same chemical storage requirements as wholesale facilities, according to the Hagstrom Report. Hoeven says the provision is needed because the OSHA regulations, yet to be implemented, have already caused nine facilities to close in North Dakota. Hoeven says the OSHA proposal would cause many retailers to stop selling to farmers at rural locations and threatened to limit the supply of anhydrous ammonia, a nitrogen fertilizer that is vital to farmers.
The American Bankers Association told Congress last week the growing volume of bank regulation is making it harder for America’s hometown banks to meet the needs of their customers, particularly in rural communities. Testifying in front of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, CEO of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, Roger Beverage, told lawmakers regulation shapes the way banks do business and can help or hinder the smooth functioning of the credit cycle. Beverage testified that the new regulatory atmosphere – not the local economic conditions – is often the tipping point that drives small banks to merge, noting that there are nearly 1,500 fewer banks than there were five years ago. First National Bank CEO Shan Hanes of Kansas told lawmakers that overregulation on rural America hinders growth for rural communities. Hanes also claimed the Farm Credit System puts rural banks on an uneven playing field.