Employees within The Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service voted to unionize Thursday afternoon. The vote, 138-4, is part of the employees’ efforts to slow down or stop a plan to move the agency out of the Washington, DC area. The Economic Research Service employees will be represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, according to the Hagstrom report.

USDA, under the direction of the Trump Administration, has proposed to move the Economic Research Service, along with the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, out of the Washington, DC area. Critics say the move will trigger the loss of valuable staff members and isolate the agencies from the Washington, DC community and its resources.

Earlier this week, USDA announced the final three potential sites for the two agencies, being the Kansa City metro area, Indiana’s Purdue University and Research Triangle Park of North Carolina. USDA says the moves will cut costs, improve employee quality of life and bring the agencies closer to stakeholders. Employees of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture are scheduled to vote on unionizing next month.

Updates to the Annual Forage insurance for the 2020 crop year include a dual use option. The Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency says the 2018 Farm Bill includes a dual use option in select counties of six Great Plains states. Producers who select this option can insure their small grains crop with both an Annual Forage Policy for grazing and a multi-peril Small Grains Policy for grain. Risk Management Agency Administrator Martin Barbre says the changes “allow crop insurance to provide coverage and recognize a practice that farmers and ranchers have used for years in certain parts of the country.” The Dual Use Option is ideal for producers who plant a small grain by October 15, 2019, to use as a grazing crop over the winter and to harvest for grain the next summer. The option is available in counties where the Risk Management Agency considers “grain/graze” a good farming practice in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Producers interested in Annual Forage should contact their local crop insurance agent or visit the RMA website for more information.

South Africa’s agriculture ministry this week confirmed two more outbreaks of African swine fever. In a news release, the South Africa Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says the two outbreaks follow an outbreak reported in April. Samples collected by agriculture officials confirmed the same virus is responsible for all three outbreaks, and all three occurred relatively close to each other in central South Africa. The affected areas have been placed under quarantine and disease control measures are underway in the region where the outbreaks were found. Officials there are urging farmers to ensure they are buying pigs from reputable sources, among taking other biosecurity measures. The spread of African swine fever prompted heightened biosecurity measures from North American countries, including the cancelation of June’s World Pork Expo. The event typically draws global participants to Des Moines, Iowa, from countries that currently have African swine fever outbreaks. Meanwhile, Tyson Foods executive Noel White told stakeholders during an earnings call this week that “the threat is real,” that African swine fever could enter the United States, further justifying strict U.S. measures to prevent the spread.

Tariff increases announced by the Trump administration on China are a “worst case” scenario for U.S. soybean growers, according to the American Soybean Association. The President’s Twitter announcement over the weekend was confirmed this week, as U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says he would move forward with the planned tariff increase on Friday. The Trump administration will increase tariffs on some $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from ten percent to 25 percent. A delegation from China will be in the U.S. Thursday and Friday as both sides look to wrap up the negotiations while many say Trump is trying to pressure China into an agreement. ASA President Davie Stephens says farmers, however “need a positive resolution of this ongoing tariff dispute, not further escalation of tensions.” China previously retaliated following tariffs from the Trump administration, targeting U.S. agriculture. With depressed prices and unsold stocks forecast to double before the 2019 harvest begins in September, Stephens adds “we need the China market reopened to U.S. soybean exports within weeks, not months or longer.”