House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Conaway this week expressed his desire to see mark up and a vote on the farm bill by the end of March in the House of Representatives. Conaway says that timetable would leave plenty of time to work out differences with the Senate version of the bill and ensure new legislation is finalized before the farm bill expires at the end of September. Conaway does not expect the Senate to have a version of the bill ready next month. The Congressional Budget Office is scoring the House version of the bill, and Conaway has previously said the bill would be released once all titles receive a score. Meanwhile, Conaway told the crop insurance industry the House version of the bill leaving his committee will include a strong crop insurance component, and he will work to fight off attempts to weaken crop insurance.

CME Group is mulling potential changes to corn and soybean markets to address concerns the contracts’ prices are not accurately reflecting the underlying U.S. cash grain markets. Reuters reports that CME Group says it is “only in listening mode,” and that no changes are permanent. CME Group has been talking with customers about potential adjustments, as the discussions signal a new way in which the oversupply has been affecting day-to-day operations in the U.S. farm sector. Reuters says that farmers who rely on CBOT futures are beginning to lose faith in a critical hedging tool to offset the risk of raising crops and defend themselves against price swings. At issue for CME is a discount for corn and soybeans in the U.S. cash markets, where farmers sell their physical harvests, relative to the company’s soybean and corn futures contracts. Normally, the global futures benchmarks come together with cash prices at delivery points along the Illinois River when the futures contracts are expiring. But, some have not in recent months.

National Farmers Union announced a farm bill campaign Wednesday that seeks to educate the public and to generate support for a farm bill to be passed this year. The campaign includes a new website, videos, weekly promotions and a petition. As Congress prepares for farm bill talks, NFU President Roger Johnson says: “Farmers Union wants to be sure all members of Congress understand why the farm bill is so vital to family farm agriculture, our land, our rural communities, and our nation’s most vulnerable citizens.” The campaign features a nine-minute video on the importance of the farm bill to family farmers, the environment and consumers, profiling Farmers Union members from across the country. NFU is also encouraging farmers and consumers alike to share the video on social media with the hashtag #FarmBillNow. Find the campaign online at https://2018farmbill.org/.

(NCGA) Being immersed in the latest ideas and technology related to machinery, crop inputs and agronomic practices is expected at the annual Commodity Classic, February 27-March 1, 2018 in Anaheim, Calif. Attendees have an open invitation to see the announcement of the winning research and product concepts surfaced via the National Corn Growers Association’s inaugural Consider Corn Challenge. The Challenge is a global competition to identify new and innovative uses for field corn as a renewable feedstock in the production of sustainable chemicals with significant market demand. This year’s six winning projects will be announced in the Anaheim Convention Center on Wednesday, February 28, at 1:45 p.m. Each winner will receive a US$25,000 cash prize. NCGA will also explore additional opportunities to support contest entries throughout their development and/or commercialization. “This challenge is geared to inspire new concepts, approaches and technologies that will help drive innovation and corn’s value. The growing productive capacity of corn farmers makes it essential that we continue to find innovative new ways to use this versatile crop,” said Bruce Peterson, chairman of NCGA’s Feed Food and Industrial Action Team. “The Consider Corn Challenge definitely shows we haven’t even come close to tapping the potential for corn or the inspiration of scientists and business people to utilize the crop.” Growing interest in America’s emerging bioeconomy and continued improvements in sustainable corn production underscore the versatility and potential of this crop and opens a pathway for new markets, says Peterson, a farmer from Northfield, Minnesota. U.S. Corn represents a large consistent feedstock that has the potential to be play a big role in the growing bioeconomy. Corn sourced, renewable biochemicals possess the ability to compete directly on performance and cost-based metrics vs. petroleum-based inputs.

The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer turned higher for January, showing some optimism among farmers and ranchers. After trending lower in late 2017, the monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the U.S. indicated that the measure of producer sentiment climbed to 135 points at the beginning of 2018, up nine points from December’s 126. Organizers say the increase was driven by an improvement in both of the barometer’s two sub-indices: the Index of Current Conditions and the Index of Future Expectations. The improvement in future expectations jumped 11 points, and the Index of Current Conditions rose to a reading of 144, up five points compared to December 2017. Organizers pointed to an improvement in the share of producers reporting that their farms are financially “better off” compared to a year before as a driving factor for the change. The base period score is 100 for the survey. So, a score below 100 indicates negative sentiment, while a score above 100 indicates positive sentiment.

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index declined slightly in January from December’s weak reading, remaining below growth neutral. However, organizers say the monthly survey of rural bank CEO’s in the Midwest is significantly higher than the reading for January 2017. The index, like all indices in the survey, ranges between zero and 100 with 50 representing growth neutral, fell to 46.8 from 47.8 in December. Organizer Ernie Goss says “the negatives are getting less negative,” but bankers still say loan defaults are the biggest challenge for 2018. The farmland sub-index rose three points to 42.2, remaining below growth natural for now 50 months, and the January farm equipment-sales index slumped to 24.4 from December’s 29.3. Confidence indicated by the rural bankers also slipped below growth neutral to 46.7 from 51.2 in December, indicating a deterioration in the economic outlook among bankers. Bankers say they are concerned about trade, specifically the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the continued low commodity prices impacting farmers.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a move out of President Trump’s playbook over the weekend, offering his own threats to walk away from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trudeau says there are several reasons Canada could choose not to accept the renegotiated agreement. Speaking at a townhall event, Bloomberg reports that Trudeau said: “Canada is willing to walk away from NAFTA if the United States proposes a bad deal,” adding: “We won’t be pushed around.” However, he says he believes NAFTA is beneficial for all its member countries. While Trudeau didn’t go into specifics of the “several reasons” that could cause Canada to walk away, officials from Canada have routinely said that a change in the nations dairy policy is a non-starter. U.S. dairy farmers want Canada to change its dairy supply-management system that they say is propping up the Canada dairy industry at the expense of U.S. dairies. But, with more market access granted under the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, that does not include the U.S., Canada dairy groups say they’ve “had enough” and won’t give up further ground in NAFTA.