More than 50 groups representing a wide scope of businesses sent a letter this week to Congress asking for approval of a multi-year extension of a series of expired tax credits. The groups attaching their names to the letter represent energy, agriculture, business, transportation, and real estate. The groups, which include the American Farm Bureau and National Biodiesel Board, say those temporary tax provisions, which expired last year, represent a number of vital American industries and support thousands of jobs. The letter says extending those provisions allows businesses to make plans for the new year. Not extending the credits only creates confusion in the marketplace, which basically increases taxes on a number of industries that create a lot of jobs and promote economic growth. The letter was sent to leadership in the House and Senate, plus the leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee. North Dakota Republican John Hoeven is the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. He told Agri-Pulse that action on the bill will likely be delayed until early next year.

A Politico report shows just how worried some lawmakers are about the potential failure of the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Officials began talking on Tuesday about putting together a potential bailout of sorts for farmers. During a conference call Tuesday morning, Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said he was going to ask U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about the rumors in Washington of money being put together and set aside to help farmers in case the NAFTA negotiations fall apart. Grassley says, “I’ve heard rumors that people in the bureaucracy are trying to anticipate what we are going to do to protect small farmers from drops in prices should the U.S. pull out of NAFTA. There’s some talk going around about potentially putting together a pot of money we could use to support prices in case of a collapse resulting from a NAFTA withdrawal.” Grassley says government assistance is the last thing the agriculture industry wants. “Farmers don’t want more money from the federal treasury,” he adds, “they want their money to come from the marketplace.”

Ten years ago on Dec. 19, President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act, greatly expanding the scope and impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In the decade since passage, significant progress has been made towards greater energy security, cleaner air and boosting local economies, according to a new analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association, “The RFS2: Then and Now.” The RFS requires oil companies to blend increasing volumes of renewable fuels with gasoline and diesel, culminating with 36 billion gallons in 2022. “A decade after the RFS2 was adopted, tremendous progress has been made toward achieving the objectives of this landmark policy,” according to the analysis, which compares key data points from 2007 to 2017. “By any measure, RFS2 has been a huge success, bringing about greater consumer choice while helping to make the air cleaner, stimulate economic activity and enhance energy security,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “As this analysis shows, consumers have greatly benefitted from this vital program. These benefits have rippled throughout our economy and we look forward to even greater success of the RFS for years to come.”

Business leaders in Canada are trying to sway Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to join the now U.S.-free Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. In an open letter, more than a dozen business leaders are telling Trudeau to join the pact that the U.S. left earlier this year. Canada-based Business News Network reports the letter doesn’t specifically mention the threat of a U.S. withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement, but says trade diversification is more important than ever. A spokesperson for Canada’s International Trade Minister says the government is “redoubling” its efforts to consult with stakeholders to make sure Canada gets the best deal possible on the revived TPP. However, with Canada absent from the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, Japan is considering pressing forward without interaction with Canada in the TPP talks. Canada’s agriculture groups last month continues to press the nation to move forward with TPP, citing uncertainties with NAFTA as a reason to bolster other trade markets.

The Angus Foundation beneficiaries hit the jackpot in Las Vegas. Supporters raised more than $43,000 of unrestricted funds for Angus youth, education and research at the 2017 National Finals Angus Sale on Dec. 10. Hosted by Decades of Excellence Group, Linz Heritage Angus and American Angus Hall of Fame, the sale featured five unique packages at auction. “Generosity abounds this holiday season,” said Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president. “Our many thanks to the package donors, buyers and contending bidders for helping make this fundraising activity successful. We are thrilled to be able to put these funds to good use in 2018 toward Angus youth scholarships, leadership training, producer education, beef cattle research projects and other programs.”

Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees say the just-passed tax bill delivers lower taxes for farmers and ranchers. House Ag Chair Mike Conaway says: “From lower marginal rates to the treatment of pass-through income to improved small business expensing, this bill delivers for farmers, ranchers and all rural America.” Meanwhile, Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts says the legislation “impacts every single American,” offering a fairer, simpler tax code. For farmers, Roberts says the bill creates a “much more pro-growth tax system,” lowering the tax burden on farmers and ranchers. The bill also doubles the exemptions from the estate tax up to $22 million per couple. Not all agree, however, that the bill will benefit farmers and ranchers. The partisan bill was not supported by Democrats. Further, the bill will deliver near-term benefits to farmers, but many of the ag-important provisions are temporary. The National Farmers Union says the bill ultimately provides handouts for the wealthy that “will be paid for by family farmers, ranchers, the lower and middle classes, and our future generations.” The American Farm Bureau Federation applauded the bill, and stated AFBF will now focus on making those important tax deductions, lower rates and the estate tax exemption permanent.”

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and others, are rolling out a new worldwide satellite-based drought severity index. Relying on data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission, called GRACE, the index adds groundwater storage to drought assessments, augmenting commonly used tools most often based on the amount of precipitation. Researchers announcing the index say it will “provide for accurate and continuous drought monitoring” worldwide. The data set for the drought severity index covers 2002 to 2014, but will be extended with the current mission and the GRACE follow-up mission scheduled to be launched in early 2018. Researchers say the index will be very reliable because it’s based solely on satellite gravity observations, which enables it to provide globally consistent drought monitoring, even in places where ground readings are difficult to obtain. You can find the data online by searching for the UCI drought index. (http://drought.eng.uci.edu/)