A report on Swine Health Dot Org says the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture released a communication confirming that the African Swine Fever Virus has been found in two northern provinces. The area is located about 100 miles from the Chinese border. Outbreaks appeared on three farms, and all of the infected animals have been culled from their herds.

Animal Health Department officials are testing the herds at neighboring farms. Local authorities in the region have put control measures in place to help limit any potential spread of the disease. Moving animals in the infected areas is restricted and quarantines are in place. Pork is a very popular protein in Asian countries and United Nations experts said the spread of ASF was highly likely. Pork is a major part of Vietnamese diets, making up 75 percent of the meat consumed in the country.

Vietnam has a population of 95 million people that consume most of its 30 million farm-raised pigs domestically. The Vietnamese Chief of Epidemiology says animal smuggling and tourism are making it difficult to protect Vietnam against ASF spreading further into the country.

An analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows 2018 Chapter 12 family farmer and family fisherman bankruptcies nationwide were down from prior-year levels. Chapter 12 filings in 2018 totaled 498 and were down one percent, or three filings, from the 2017 calendar year, according to the AFBF Market Intel report.

AFBF notes, however, that the U.S. had fewer farmers in the U.S. in 2018 compared to 2017. And, the data shows bankruptcy filings in 19 states were higher than prior-year levels. In the Midwest, bankruptcies totaled 223 filings, up 19 percent from 2017 and double decade-ago levels. Farm bankruptcies in Wisconsin, the second largest dairy state, totaled 49 filings in 2018 – the highest in the nation and AFBF says the situation is likely to worsen.

Farm debt is record-high, and farm debt as a proportion of annual farm income is at 97 percent, a 32-year high. However, AFBF also points out that bankruptcy does not mean the loss of the family farm. Through a successful Chapter 12 bankruptcy, a farmer may have an opportunity to retain assets and continue the farm operation in some capacity.

The new Trans-Pacific Partnership is boosting Canada’s beef sales to Japan. The new trade deal that does not include the United States has led to a surge in beef exports from Canada, although official numbers are not yet available. The Financial Times reports the new TPP, called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, could be costing the U.S. beef sector through the protectionism policies by the Trump administration that withdrew from the original trade deal.

Well-noted by the U.S. beef industry, the new TPP cut Japanese tariffs on imports of chilled beef from 38.7 percent to 27.5 percent, giving Australia, Canada and New Zealand and 11 percent tariff advantage over U.S. beef. The recent government shutdown delayed planned bilateral trade talks between the U.S. and Japan, but the talks are supposed to start soon. Japan has indicated it would give the U.S. similar tariff concession made to those in the TPP agreement.

Trade talks between the U.S. and China resumed Tuesday as both nations seem optimistic to reach an agreement that would mark the end of a tit-for-tat trade war. Mid-level talks are ongoing, with higher-level talks expected Thursday that will include U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, according to the Washington Post.

The two sides “made headway” on “important and difficult” issues last week, according to Lighthizer. An agreement would be welcomed by U.S. agriculture, as China targeted U.S. farm goods throughout the trade war, including soybeans. However, more long-term damage may be lurking. China has been working to overhaul its agriculture structure in recent years, and a recent policy statement by China announced the nations intent to stimulate its rural economy.

The policy statement includes increased farm subsidies and the promotion of increased plantings of soybeans and other oilseeds. The statement is seen as another measure by China to increase domestic production of soybeans to reduce dependence on foreign nations.

The Senate Ag Committee and its leadership, including Chair Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, announced that the Senate passed the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act. In the announcement, the Senators said, “The unanimous Senate passage of the bipartisan PRIA legislation provides certainty to farmers, consumers, and many other stakeholders. We’re urging our colleagues in the House to pass the legislation as soon as possible.”

The legislation moves into the House of Representatives and is the same bill that was passed by unanimous voice vote back in the Senate during June of 2018. As recently as December of last year, a number of agriculture groups urged Congress to pass the legislation. PRIA establishes a framework for registering pesticides with the Environmental Protection Agency.

The original intent was to create a more predictable and effective evaluation process for affected pesticide decisions. The legislation includes technical changes and extends authority for the EPA to collect updated pesticide registrations and registration fees through 2023.

The USDA is preparing to issue its Agricultural Projections to 2028 report next month. Some of the tables they’ll use to come up with the projections were issued last week. Looking at 2019, USDA projects crop receipts to reach $200 billion, up slightly from last year. Direct government payments, including those from the Market Facilitation Program, are projected to drop by $13 billion from a year ago, coming in at $10.2 billion this year.

Total expenses are projected to drop by 1.5 percent from 2018. The University of Illinois’ Farm Policy News says based on the overall projections for receipts and expenses, USDA projects 2019 farm income at $77.6 billion, up from 69.2 billion a year ago. Crop receipts and total expenses are projected to rise even into 2020. Net farm income is projected to hold stable, somewhere between $75.6 billion and $79.5 billion through 2028.

In other USDA projections, the agency doesn’t expect soybean exports to return to pre-trade war peak levels until the 2026-2027 growing season. The reason is due to South American soybean competitors who gain global market share. However, the projections in the USDA outlook assume that China’s retaliatory tariffs stay in place.

The Midwest and the Mid-South parts of the country saw farm income decline in the fourth quarter of 2018. In spite of the pressure on farm incomes, the value of quality farmland, ranchland, and pastureland rose. Those observations come from the latest Agricultural Finance Monitor, which is published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The 22 agricultural banks that responded to the Fed Survey are located in seven Midwest and Mid-South states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Lenders continued to report declining farm incomes compared to a year earlier. The last quarter of 2018 was the 20th-straight quarter of lower farm incomes. Farm income expectations improved slightly in the first quarter of 2019.

One Missouri lender says, “We’ve heard rumors of large farmers filing for bankruptcy. Farmers in our area still have crops in the field.” The past surveys done by the Fed showed expectations of dropping farmland value. In spite of that, quality farmland value rose 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year when compared to 2017. Cash rents for quality farmland rose 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter.

It’s been a tough winter for farmers, especially for beef and dairy producers. Extreme weather across a good chunk of the nation have resulted in some excessive livestock deaths. Ranchers who have experienced those losses may be eligible to recover some of those losses, thanks to the Livestock Indemnity Program.

A Drovers article says the program provides needed benefits to eligible livestock producers who suffer the deaths of livestock outside the normal range of mortality, due to conditions like adverse weather, disease, and predator attacks. Eligible losses don’t automatically trigger payments. Livestock owners must provide evidence of such losses to the Farm Service Agency. To qualify for program benefits, livestock must have died in excess of normal mortality rates as a direct result of eligible loss conditions, such as weather or predators.

Livestock farmers also qualify for the benefit if livestock were injured due to an eligible loss condition and were sold at a reduced price because of that injury. If death losses occur, producers are reminded to record the date, take pictures, and report it directly to the Farm Service Agency.