The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear the American Farm Bureau Federation’s challenge to the cleanup plan for the Chesapeake Bay in a conference scheduled for Friday. The eight remaining justices will then rule on whether or not to hear the challenge to rules set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Politico reports opponents, including 22 states and 92 members of Congress, to the EPA plan were surely counting on Justice Antonin Scalia’s support in arguing it infringes on states’ rights to determine land use. Scalia died in Texas over the weekend. Meanwhile, next month the court is scheduled to hear arguments to consider hearing a challenge to the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule.
Author: Agriculture News
2015 Pork Export Value Down 15 Percent
The value of U.S. pork exports in 2015 dropped 16 percent compared to 2014. The U.S. Meat Export Federation says export value fell some $468 million to total $5.58 billion in 2015. Volume levels for pork exports fell two percent to 2.13 million metric tons. However, the data may be skewed by imports to Japan. USMEF noted that in 2014, some exports for Japan were miscoded as large intestines, and the data has not yet been corrected. Excluding Japan, 2015 pork variety meat exports were down eight percent year-over-year. U.S. exports to Japan struggled in 2015, declining 13 percent to the lowest level since 2009. However, USMEF notes a recent decline in Japan’s frozen inventories indicates opportunities for import growth in 2016 while the U.S. continues to face increasing competition in Japan, especially from European suppliers.
Egypt Rejects Canadian Wheat for Ergot
For the second time, Egypt has rejected a vessel carrying Canadian wheat because Egyptian officials found trace levels of the fungus ergot, but would not say the percentage found. Reuters reports the move by the quarantine authority is the latest in a series of rejections, which have caused serious concerns over Egypt’s tough new quality rules and disrupted the country’s massive wheat imports. Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer and is facing difficulties purchasing the grain in its import tenders since the first shipment rejection. Suppliers have refrained from making offers or added risk premiums to prices. Egypt’s supply ministry says the country would allow a 0.05 percent level of ergot, but the agricultural quarantine authority has insisted on a zero tolerance policy.
Cash Grain Bids
February 17th, 2016
St Joseph
Yellow Corn
3.54 – 3.60
White Corn
no bid
Soybeans
8.57 – 8.65
LifeLine Foods
3.64
Atchison
Yellow Corn
3.64 – 3.66
Soybeans
8.47
Hard Wheat
3.69
Soft Wheat
2.68
Kansas City Truck Bids
Yellow Corn
3.69 – 3.71
White Corn
3.84 – 3.89
Soybeans
8.83 – 8.88
Hard Wheat
4.36
Soft Wheat
3.14
Sorghum
6.11
Syngenta Deal May Help Biotech Acceptance in China
ChemChina’s purchase of Syngenta may bring more widespread acceptance of genetically engineered crops in China. The $43 billion deal brings Syngenta into China, the world’s largest grain producer and a major grower of vegetables, oilseeds, cotton and sugar. Syngenta’s Chief Operating Officer Davor Pisk told Reuters that while cultivation of GM food crops remains illegal in China, there are indications that the government wants to move toward adopting more use of GM technology. However, he adds China must do so in a very cautious way as it recognizes consumer uncertainty and anxiety regarding GM foods. He added “Chinese consumers had been reluctant to accept GM technology as long as it appeared controlled by foreign companies,” suggesting that if a Chinese entity owns the technology, consumers will have more confidence in its safety.
Chinese Soy Imports Drop Sharply in January
Chinese imports of soybeans dropped sharply last month. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports China imported 5.66 million metric tons of soybeans in January, a 38 percent drop from December and a 17 percent decline from the year prior, according to official customs data. The nation’s soybean buys are expected to decline further during February due to China’s Lunar New Year festivities and shipping delays in Brazil, with some projecting February soybean imports of just four million metric tons. The country’s total exports fell 11.2 percent from the year prior in January, while its imports dropped 18 percent, widening its trade surplus to $63.29 billion versus expectations for a $58.85 billion trade surplus.
No GMO Bill Yet in Senate
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas said this week his genetically modified food labeling bill is not ready. Roberts told the Hagstrom Report he hopes his bill will be bipartisan, but he said what he introduces will be “a chairman’s mark” that can be amended. Roberts, along with the committee’s ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow, have been attempting to write bills that would stop state laws from mandating labeling of foods containing GMO ingredients. The first of which is scheduled to take effect in Vermont this July. He added that he thinks action must come quickly because the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and the conflict between Republicans and Democrats over whether a new justice should be brought up for confirmation before the election “will make it tougher and tougher down the road” to pass legislation on a bipartisan basis this year.
Rising Credit Demand Reported Across the Midwest
Reports from the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago last week noted demand for bank loans, loan extensions, and renewals is surging among U.S. farmers. Agriculture is facing the third consecutive annual drop in farm incomes. Pro Farmers First Thing Today reports access to such credit tightened in the final quarter of 2015 and is expected to continue to be squeezed in 2016. The squeeze comes as the value of farmers’ land slips and their rate of repaying existing loans slows. USDA this month projected a two percent decrease in farm income for 2016 compared to last year. Farm income is down more than 50 percent since hitting a record high in 2013.
More La Niña Expectations Later This Year
More forecasters are expecting La Niña to return to the U.S. later this year. The U.S. government last week joined weather forecasters in predicting the weather event will quickly follow the current El Niño weather pattern later this year. Weather models indicate La Niña conditions, which tend to occur unpredictably every two to seven years, may emerge in the Northern Hemisphere this fall, while El Niño is expected to dissipate during the late spring or early summer, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. Reuters reported the phenomenon can be less damaging than El Niño, but severe La Niñas are linked to floods, droughts and hurricanes. La Niña last appeared from August 2011 to March 2012, hurting corn and soybean crops in Argentina and Brazil and bringing with it the worst drought in a century to Texas.
Demand Strong for Conservation Reserve Program
USDA on Thursday said demand is strong for the Conservation Reserve Program, adding this will be one of the most competitive general sign-up periods in history. That is in part due to a statutory limit on the number of acres that can be enrolled in the program, according to USDA. The sign-up deadline is February 26th. Submissions will be ranked according to environmental benefits in comparison to all other offers nationwide. USDA will announce accepted offers after the enrollment period ends and offers are reviewed. As of January, 23.6 million acres were enrolled in CRP, with contracts for more than 1.6 million acres set to expire this fall. The statutory cap on acres that can be enrolled is 24 million acres.