The House Agriculture Committee unveiled a new website, featuring a modern, responsive design that works on phones, tablets, and desktops. The new website can be found at the same link: agriculture.house.gov

“I’m proud of our new website, that makes it easier for folks to navigate and find out what the committee is up to,” said Chairman Collin C. Peterson. “We’ve taken a modern approach that works on all devices and with this new platform, the people we fight for are able to find the critical information they need.”

The new site also features rebranded committee imaging as well as links to the committee’s YouTube, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Settlement talks kicked off last week as part of a lawsuit challenging a Missouri law that makes promoting plant-based-food products as “meat” a misdemeanor crime. Attorneys for the state of Missouri and vegetarian food companies that sued the state are working toward a settlement agreement, part of a court-ordered mediation process.

An Associated Press report says the Missouri law first took effect in August of 2018. It was challenged shortly after that by the Tofurky Company of Oregon, which makes vegetarian food products, as well as the Good Food Institute, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit group that advocates for meat alternatives. The suit claims the Missouri law infringes on First Amendments rights of free speech to use product labels like “veggie burgers” and “vegetarian ham roast.”

Missouri cattlemen who supported the law say they want to make sure that consumers know what they’re buying at the meat case. The dairy industry is facing the same kind of challenges from almond milk and the Missouri cattlemen don’t want to go down that road. A federal judge overseeing the case hasn’t yet ruled on a request for a preliminary injunction.

President Donald Trump signed the $19.1 billion disaster aid bill into law on Thursday. A DTN report says that means farmers in at least six states will likely be eligible for financial help. Three billion of the total has been designated specifically for agricultural losses. It will help southeastern farmers hit hard by last fall’s hurricanes, as well as help Midwest farmers recover from flooding that destroyed grain stored on their farms.

However, the report says there is some confusion over language in the bill regarding “crops prevented from planting in 2019.” USDA will have to decide how it wants to divide up the $3 billion in disaster help for damage done by Hurricanes Michael and Florence, as well as wildfire damage to California crops and flooding in several Midwest states. While Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue commended the president and Congress for getting the bill done, USDA didn’t provide any details on how the agency would begin to distribute the aid.

The disaster aid package comes as farmers across the Corn Belt continue to battle wet weather and are struggling to get crops in the ground. Multiple groups are asking USDA to adjust planting dates or restrictions. Farmers are looking at their options as they’ve passed the prevented planting date for corn and are approaching the late planting period for soybeans.

The National Corn Growers Association made a trip to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to talk about the Renewable Fuels Standard and blending waivers given to refiners. NCGA Renewable Fuels Public Policy Director Kathy Bergren held a briefing for House of Representatives staff. The goal was to explain the damaging effects of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuels Standard blending waivers given to large, profitable refineries.

They also talked about potential solutions to the dispute between the oil and ethanol industries. Since early 2018, the EPA has granted a total of 53 RFS exemptions to refineries for the 2016 and 2017 compliance years. Those exemptions equal a total of 2.61 billion gallons of ethanol. EPA currently has 39 waiver petitions for the 2018 compliance year awaiting action.

The NCGA told the staff in attendance that the waivers have taken a toll on farmers by undercutting the RFS and reducing corn demand. NCGA President Lynn Chrisp was there as well, saying, “While corn farmers are immensely grateful that the barrier to year-round E15 has been lifted, we won’t be able to reap the full benefits if the EPA continues to allow oil companies to avoid blending biofuels in accordance with the RFS.”

There won’t be any trade relief payments for farmers with unplanted crops. Politico quotes an unnamed official as saying USDA has made the determination. However, a department spokesman did not confirm or deny that a decision had been made either way. Last month, the department said it would pay up to $14.5 billion directly to producers who’ve been hit hard by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The payment rate would be determined partly by the total amount of a farm’s planted acres. Growers who didn’t get a crop in the ground wouldn’t be eligible for the help. Ag economists raised concerns that producers might plant crops just to try and collect some trade aid help when they otherwise wouldn’t put a crop in the ground. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said USDA was looking at whether or not they could legally offer trade aid for unplanted acres, noting that, “You have to have something to sell or trade for a tariff impact.”

However, farm groups made the case that trade tension can affect producers’ crop insurance coverage when they can’t plant due to the weather. Those revenue guarantees are based in part on commodity prices, which have dropped because of retaliatory tariffs. Politico says not offering trade aid on unplanted acres would bring USDA right back to where it started on the issue.

Mexico released a list of U.S. products that could face a retaliatory tariff in response to possible Trump Administration tariffs that are scheduled to start this Monday on Mexican imports. A Reuters report says the focus appears to be on states that supported Trump’s bid for the presidency. However, the list doesn’t include corn, one of Mexico’s biggest imports.

Mexico’s rapidly-growing livestock industry relies on millions of tons of U.S.-grown yellow corn annually. Industry experts say it would be extremely difficult for Mexico to replace American corn with imports from other countries quickly enough to fill the gap. President Trump has said he’ll apply the first round of tariffs on all Mexican imports starting next week if Mexico doesn’t take steps to help stop the flow of Central American immigrants seeking entry into the United States.

Four anonymous Mexican government officials told Reuters that the list was prepared by the economy ministry and is sitting in President Lopez Obrador’s office. Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs focus on states that voted for Trump in 2016, where agriculture plays a major role in the economy. The tariffs are also targeted at several industrial states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.