E15 retailers from across the country are urging President Trump to ensure the Environmental Protection Agency follows through on his commitment to allow fuel containing 15 percent ethanol to be sold year-round. “This common-sense change will allow us the opportunity to consistently offer a less expensive, higher performing fuel to our consumers at stations across America,” the companies stated in their letter to the president. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said that the outdated regulation not only hurts consumers by removing a cleaner, more cost-efficient fuel option during the summer driver season but also harms businesses. The retailers also urged the president to avoid implementing a cap on the price of Renewable Identification Numbers under the Renewable Fuel Standard and curtail the rapid expansion of so-called small refinery “hardship” waivers.

The Global Food Price Index has increased two percent since this time last year. Released last week, the monthly record of global food prices by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations averaged 173.5 points, up 2.7 percent from April 2017. While the prices of most cereal grains and dairy products continued to increase in April, sugar prices fell further. Vegetable oil and meat markets also remained under pressure. Cereal grain prices have increased 15.4 percent since April of last year, following an upward trend for the fourth consecutive month, with prices of wheat, coarse grains and rice all gaining momentum in recent months. Dairy prices were 3.4 percent higher than March, and up 11 percent over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, meat prices fell .9 percent for the month, roughly equal to its year-ago level. Finally, sugar prices were down 4.8 percent for the month, and down 24 percent from April 2017.

The Renegotiation effort of the North American Free Trade Agreement continues this week with all sides eager to finish the talks. Representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico are pushing to finalize an updated agreement this week. However, as Bloomberg reports, several contentious issues remain unresolved as the talks have stretched over more than eight months, including dairy. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has previously said he hopes to finish the talks by mid-May, as to pave the way to get a revised NAFTA through the U.S. Congress by the end of this year. The U.S. is also eager to turn full attention to China, after making little progress last week on the trade dispute between the two nations. U.S. lawmakers are also putting pressure on negotiators, as a few weeks ago more than 60 members of Congress encouraged Lighthizer to eliminate Canada’s tariffs on U.S. dairy exports and its protectionist pricing policies through the negotiations.

A man posing as a veterinarian admits to taking part in a $4.7 million investment fraud scheme in Missouri. A Drovers’ report says Robert D. Hawkins has consented that he aided Cameron J. Hager in defrauding more than 90 investors across 21 states in the scheme. The Missouri Secretary of State’s Securities Division says Hawkins allegedly posed as a veterinarian for documents on the company, called 5A Holdings, LLC. Hager served as the owner of 5A Holdings and ran the scheme from July 17, 2015, through March 28, 2018. Hager allegedly told investors he would buy cattle from “financially-distressed” farmers and would have a seasoned veterinarian look them over. He would then feed the cattle until the optimum time came to sell them. The “seasoned veterinarian” was Hawkins, who never actually looked over the cattle because none were ever purchased. Hawkins is cooperating with authorities in any pending proceedings for the case.

An open letter to President Trump in Monday’s editions of the New York Times, New York Post, and Wall Street Journal urged the president to “unleash rural growth by cutting the red tape holding back homegrown energy.” It also condemns Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s actions that are “destroying demand for biofuels and crops during the worst farm crisis since the 1980s.” The full-page ads were placed by Growth Energy ahead of an expected meeting with farm-state champions and petroleum backers at the White House this week. The letter was signed by 94 of Growth Energy’s member plants from 18 states. “Major petroleum refiners have received handout after handout at the expense of rural workers and farm families,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We want the president to know that we are counting on him to end the attacks on U.S. biofuels and press ahead on solutions that will expand markets for homegrown energy and revitalize rural communities. We need the president to act quickly on his pledge to lift outdated regulations on E15 and send a clear and final signal that that this White House will no longer tolerate oil-backed schemes to derail the rural recovery.”

A Bloomberg report says that two days of trade discussions in Beijing ended with nothing else other than an agreement to keep talking. China’s official news agency says the two sides did reach an agreement on some trade issues, but also admitted there were some big disagreements on some major issues. The news report says the sides will continue discussions but gave no hint as to where or when further talks would take place. Neither side briefed the media and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin left Beijing Thursday evening. The discord between the two largest economies in the world will likely mean more skittishness in global markets as trade tensions continue. Shane Oliver, the head of investment strategy at AMP Capitol Investors, tells Bloomberg that a trade disagreement which took decades to build was never going to be solved in just two days. “While a negotiated solution is very likely, it’s going to take some time, and there will be a lot of posturing and near-death moments along the way,” Oliver says. Both sides had a series of tough demands heading into the talks. The U.S. was focused on a trade deficit with China that it says reached over $375 billion last year.

Recently the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) worked together to develop consistent, simple and a flexible policy for cover crop practices.
The termination and reporting guidelines were updated for cover crops.
Termination:
The cover crop termination guidelines provide the timeline for terminating cover crops, are based on zones and apply to non-irrigated cropland. To view the zones and additional guidelines visit https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/landuse/crops/ and click “Cover Crop Termination Guidelines.”
Reporting:
The intended use of cover only will be used to report cover crops. This includes crops that were terminated by tillage and reported with an intended use code of green manure. An FSA policy change will allow cover crops to be hayed and grazed. Program eligibility for the cover crop that is being hayed or grazed will be determined by each specific program.
If the crop reported as cover only is harvested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated properly, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop.
Crops reported with an intended use of cover only will not count toward the total cropland on the farm. In these situations, a subsequent crop will be reported to account for all cropland on the farm.
Cover crops include grasses, legumes, and forbs, for seasonal cover and other conservation purposes. Cover crops are primarily used for erosion control, soil health Improvement, and water quality improvement. The cover crop may be terminated by natural causes, such as frost, or intentionally terminated through chemical application, crimping, rolling, tillage or cutting. A cover crop managed and terminated according to NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines is not considered a crop for crop insurance purposes.
Cover crops can be planted: with no subsequent crop planted, before a subsequent crop, after prevented planting acreage, after a planted crop, or into a standing crop.
How do I report my cover crop acres on my 578?
FSA made changes to the types of cover crops. Cover crop types can be chosen from the following four categories:
Cereals and other grasses – Any cover crop that is classified as a grass plant or cereal grain, and would include, but not be limited to, the following cover crops: cereal rye, wheat, barley, oats, black oats, triticale, annual ryegrass, pearl millet, foxtail millet (also called German, Italian or Hungarian millet), sorghum sudan grass, sorghum and other millets and grasses.
Legumes – Any cover crop that is classified as a legume, including, but not limited to, clovers, vetches, peas, sun hemp, cowpeas, lentils and other legumes.
Brassicas and other broadleaves – Any cover crop that is classified is a non-legume broadleaf, including, but not limited to, Brassicas such as radishes, turnips, canola, rapeseed, oilseed rape, and mustards, as well as other broadleaf plants such as phacelia, flax, sunflower, buckwheat, and safflower.
Mixtures – Mixes of two or more cover crop species planted at the same time, for example, oats and radishes. If the cover crop is harvested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated according to policy guidelines, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop and the acreage report must be revised to reflect the actual crop.As always feel free to give us a call if you have any questions.