(USDA) Agricultural producers in Missouri who suffered losses and damages due to recent drought on two separate occasions may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency emergency loans. For the recent drought, the Secretary has designated Andrew, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Mercer, Nodaway, Randolph, Ray, Saline and Sullivan counties in Missouri as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in the contiguous counties of Adair, Atchison, Audrain, Boone, Buchanan, Clay, Cooper, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Knox, Lafayette, Monroe, Pettis, Platte, Putnam,
Shelby and Worth in Missouri, along with Decatur, Page, Ringgold, Taylor and Wayne counties in Iowa, and Doniphan County in Kansas, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans. For the second recent drought, the Secretary has designated Adair, Buchanan, Howard,
Putnam, Schuyler and Scotland counties in Missouri as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in the contiguous counties of Andrew, Boone, Chariton, Clark, Clinton, Cooper, DeKalb, Knox, Linn, Macon, Mercer, Platte, Randolph, Saline and Sullivan in Missouri, along with Appanoose, Davis, Van Buren and Wayne counties in Iowa, and Atchison and Doniphan counties in Kansas, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.
Producers in all designated primary and contiguous counties will have until April 1, 2019, to apply for emergency loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. Additional information is also available online at https://www.farmers.gov/recover.

The Food and Drug Administration announced this week it would extend its deadlines and inspection timeframes for when certain-sized facilities should come into compliance with some Food Safety Modernization Act. The move, applauded by the American Feed Industry Association, gives the FDA more time to release the final FSMA guidance documents and train its inspectors. AFIA says the deadline extensions give the regulated animal food industry “greater opportunity to perform the necessary retrofits to animal food safety plans and processes to ensure full compliance with federal regulations.” Small-sized animal food facilities, firms with less than 500 employees will need to come into compliance with the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls regulations by September 17, with the FDA delaying inspections until the fall of 2019. Initially, inspections were set to begin in January 2019. The FDA intends to delay compliance for very small businesses, those with sales totaling less than $2.5 million, from the requirements applicable to qualified facilities until the fall of 2020.

China’s latest shot in a tit-for-tat trade war is a World Trade Organization Complaint over U.S. solar tariffs. China filed a complaint with the WTO to help determine the legality of the U.S. policies, saying they not only harm China’s rights but also undermine the WTO’s authority, according to Reuters. China says the U.S. tariffs and the U.S. “decision to subsidize renewable energy firms” has distorted the global market. The Trump administration in January announced it was imposing “Safeguard tariffs” over four years, with a 30 percent tariff in the first year reduced gradually to 15 percent in year four. The action, however, is not expected to have an immediate impact on China’s major solar manufacturers, as their exposure to U.S. markets was reduced after earlier trade disputes. One Chinese executive told Reuters that U.S. solar tariffs were a “sideshow” and had little effect on Chinese business.

The Department of Agriculture has added features to the website Farmers.gov to help producers prepare for and recover from natural disasters. The site has updated tools and information to help producers identify the right programs and make decisions for their operations, according to USDA. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the changes Tuesday. New additions to the site include a portal for secure business transactions and a disaster assistance discovery tool. The discovery tool walks producers through five questions to help them identify personalized results of what USDA disaster assistance programs meet their needs. The portal is the first edition of a secure dashboard for producers to manage program applications and other USDA documents. USDA’s vision for the website is to provide producers with “online self-service applications, educational materials, engagement opportunities and business tools,” according to Secretary Perdue. Find the new features online, www.farmers.gov.

U.S. agriculture export prices fell 5.3 percent last month. Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor shows the decline is the largest drop in farm exports since 2011. The decline in July followed a one percent decrease in June, which followed a 1.6 percent increase in May. The department says a 14.1 percent drop in soybean prices was the primary contributor to the decline in agricultural prices. Meanwhile, export prices for corn, wheat, fruits, and nuts also decreased in July. The notable change in July can be attributed to the start of tariffs in the trade war between the U.S. and China. The back-and-forth tariff announcements between the two nations include China’s 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans. China has also targeted 90 percent of U.S. agricultural goods with tariffs. All exports, including non-agricultural items, however, remained unchanged in July, along with no change in prices of U.S. imports.

The U.S. and Mexico are “very, very close” to reaching a deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement. A White House economic adviser said this week the negotiation teams were going through the perceived final details. The U.S. is hopeful a deal with Mexico can be a model for what Canada could accept. Canada remains on the sidelines as the U.S. has been working over the past several weeks to reach an agreement with Mexico. Mexico remains “cautiously optimistic,” according to Politico, that an agreement can be reached, possibly by the end of this month. If so, the U.S. would then turn to negotiate an agreement with Canada, but some market access differences remain a sticking point when it comes to dairy. The U.S. is hoping to remove Canada’s dairy supply management system as part of the NAFTA talks.

The MO State Fair has a couple new promotions being offered in 2018, on Tuesday, August 14 is Missouri Farmers Care Food Drive $2 Tuesday. With a minimum donation of 2 cans of food you can receive $2 admission to the State Fair. In addition to discounted admission, $2 Tuesday also offers $2 carnival rides, for most rides, all day, and special $2 deals from select concessions and vendors, all day. The $2 Tuesday promotion supports the Missouri Farmers Care Food Drive, now in its eighth year at the Missouri State Fair, and the Drive to Feed Kids initiative. You can learn more about how you can support the Drive and help combat childhood food insecurity in our state at mofarmerscare.com/drive. Tuesday, August 14 will also feature the 2018 Can Creation Contest, sponsored by Woods Supermarket. All of the cans, donated by Woods Supermarket, will be added to the food drive efforts and distributed to food banks following the Fair. Final food drive totals will be announced during the intermission of the RaeLynn/Cole Swindell concert on Saturday, August 18, in the Pepsi Grandstand.