The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China announced today it has terminated anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into U.S. sorghum and the temporary anti-dumping deposit collected will be returned in full, stating these measures do not serve public interest. National Sorghum Producers Chairman Don Bloss, a sorghum producer from Pawnee City, Nebraska, released the following statement in response, “National Sorghum Producers is gratified by this announcement and this quick result, which is a win for China and a win for America’s sorghum farmers. We agree that it is in China’s public interest to terminate these cases, and we look forward to deepening our trade ties with our Chinese partners and customers.” He also talked about how trade is important for the Ag industry, “We hope the dismissal of these cases reflects a lessening of trade tensions as our leaders continue to dialogue. Agricultural production and international trade is one of the United States’ greatest success stories.”

The House of Representatives continues its debate on the 2018 Farm Bill through Thursday evening, with the final vote on passage coming up on Friday. The Hagstrom Report says House Republican leadership and House Ag Chair Michael Conaway are still trying to round up enough Republican votes to guarantee passage. No Democrats will vote for the bill because of changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Several moderate Republicans oppose the bill for the same reason. Hardline conservative House members says the SNAP changes aren’t strict enough and the bill is too generous to farmers, especially the larger farmers. House members first began to debate the bill on Wednesday and approved several non-controversial amendments by voice vote. The Hagstrom Report says the most controversial amendment that’ll be discussed makes changes to the national sugar program. The House Rules Committee didn’t agree to allow consideration of some of the more controversial amendments, including forbidding SNAP usage to buy sweetened beverages, as well as removing the classification of hemp as marijuana. One amendment was approved for debate that would affect crop insurance by phasing out all subsidies over time. The Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau sent a letter on Wednesday asking Congress to do no harm to crop insurance.

The National Corn Growers Association is inviting photographers to help tell the story of farming field corn in America through the fifth annual Fields-of-Corn Photo Contest.

Through this contest, NCGA captures high-resolution photos of corn growth from seed to harvest and the families that grow it. While the contest just opened last month, interested participants will be able to submit multiple entries until November 30, 2018.

Open to all, the Fields-of-Corn photo contest offers a free opportunity for photographers to share their work while competing for 25 cash prizes. Prizes include cash awards for the top three entries in eight categories including: Corn, Growing Field Corn, Farm Family Lifestyle, Scenery/Landscape, Farming Challenges, SHP Conservation, one for the most popular as determined by Facebook “likes” and, new this year, True Grit.

While entries will only be accepted until November 30, 2018, entries may accumulate “likes” until December 31, 2018. Winners will be announced in January of 2019.

The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is echoing comments from House Speaker Paul Ryan, calling on the North American Free Trade Agreement talks to conclude in an agreement this week. That is if the Trump administration wants Congress to consider an updated NAFTA before the end of 2018. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady says “we’re hopeful they’ll continue to make progress on this agreement.” However, the week is quickly coming to an end, and top trade negotiators from Mexico and Canada are not on-site with others this week. Dan Ujczo, an international trade lawyer, told Politico that to reach an agreement, negotiators may have to concede to a “skinny NAFTA,” one without addressing key issues including reducing the trade deficit, preventing job outsourcing and providing better market access to Canada for U.S. dairy farmers. The “skinny NAFTA,” Ujczo says, would fall in line with the “do no harm” pleas by U.S. agriculture, but he says not addressing key issues gives Democrats an advantage to say President Trump “did not fulfill his campaign promises to dairy farmers,” and others.

As the House of Representatives debates its version of the farm bill this week, the Senate is expected to hold a markup session on its version soon. Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts recently told the Hagstrom Report that the Senate should be ready to announce a markup date next week. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota who sits on the Senate Ag Committee, predicts the committee will have a “product ready in June,” for consideration. Klobuchar said this week that the Senate Ag Committee members are working together on a bipartisan basis, “in contrast with the House Agriculture Committee.” She also noted that House Agriculture ranking member Collin Peterson has said he supports the Senate bipartisan effort. Democrats in the House have refused to support the Republican-led effort in the chamber because of changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The American Soybean Association recently submitted comments on the Section 301 tariffs to the United States Trade Representative during the 30-day open comment period. USTR recently initiated an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into the government of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. A slew of tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China include a 25 percent tariff on soybean imports into China. As part of its comments, the American Soybean Association told USTR that the tariffs have already created uncertainty in the marketplace and threaten the long-standing work of the U.S. soy industry to establish and expand foreign markets for U.S. soybeans. ASA asked USTR and the Trump administration to “reconsider the Section 301 tariffs and allow soybean farmers to be part of the solution instead of collateral damage from a potential trade war.”

Hearings are underway in Washington, D.C. on a proposed list of Chinese products the U.S. has targeted with 25 percent tariff. The three-day event features testimony from more than 100 witnesses. One of those testifying is farmer Michelle Erickson-Jones, a member of Farmers for Free Trade, who says the U.S. farm community is already feeling the effects of the threatened tariff response by China. The Montana rancher says the market interruptions can “devastate ag prices and drive U.S. farmers out of business.” The hearings come as the U.S. and China are discussing a potential agreement that would soften China’s tariff stance on U.S. agricultural products. The administration over the weekend hinted lifting an export ban on China’s ZTE, a smartphone maker, as part of the talks that are ongoing this week, in exchange for status quo agricultural trade. A delegation from China is visiting with U.S. trade officials in Washington, D.C. in a possible effort to avoid a trade war.

A bipartisan group of Senators, including MO Senator Claire McCaskill, is urging the Federal Communications Commission to expand support for a program aimed at reducing broadband costs in order to improve the quality of healthcare available to patients in rural areas. The Senators highlighted the need to strengthen the Rural Health Care Program to address the shortage of broadband connectivity for rural health care providers. The program has been improving the quality of healthcare available in rural America since 1997, but has never seen a funding increase despite increased demand. “In 2016, for the first time ever, the demand for funding exceeded the cap and funding to recipients was reduced by 7.5 percent,” the bipartisan group of Senators wrote in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. “Further, it was recently announced that applicants will suffer a devastating cutback in funding of 16 to 26 percent in funding year 2017 because of continued growth in demand. Unless the spending cap is raised appropriately to account for current needs and future growth, health care providers in rural areas will encounter severe rate increases for their broadband services, making it even harder for rural health care practitioners to engage in life-saving telemedicine.” Receiving $5.5 million in 2016, Missouri ranks 12th among the states in total amount of Rural Health Care Program funding. The FCC’s Connect2Health Task Force has identified nine Missouri counties as “critical need” counties that should be prioritized for public and private broadband investment in order to improve public health.