Consumers will soon see a 50/50 beef-bacon burger on store shelves. Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports Coastal Ltd. has secured a licensing agreement with Jensen Meat Company to bring the Slater’s 50/50 burger to the grocery store. Slater’s 50/50, a Southern California restaurant chain, takes its name from its patented 50/50 burger patty. The product initially will be introduced to 77 Sam’s Club locations in Southern California and six in the Dallas market this month. A Jensen Meats official says “bacon-mania shows no signs of receding,” noting the huge demand for bacon products that has sent national bacon reserves to a 50-year low. The company estimates that gross sales of the product in the first year could exceed $10 million. Jensen Meat is a San Diego-based processor of ground beef products, and Coastal Ltd. is a San Diego-based licensing and brand management agency.

Delays along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers are causing a backlog for grain shippers. The St Louis Post-Dispatch says low river levels and back-ups at aging locks have slowed navigation on the Mississippi and its tributaries, driving up the cost of hauling Midwestern crops to Gulf Coast export terminals to near-record highs. Grain storage along the Mississippi river is filling up quickly, and cash premiums on soybeans at river terminals have dropped to the lowest level since 2011 amid ample available supplies. As newly harvested supplies reach the market, elevators with barges on hand are prioritizing loading soybeans while storing corn if they have space. Shippers also have to load less grain onto barges because of the low river levels. Earlier this week, the closure of an aging lock along the Ohio river created a line of 65 towboats waiting to pass. The grain handling woes come as farmers are beginning to harvest bumper corn and soybean crops amid weakening prices, with soybean stocks at a decade high and corn supplies at the biggest in nearly 30 years.

Future expectations for the agriculture economy turned lower in the latest monthly Ag Economy Barometer by CME Group and Purdue University. Released Tuesday, the September reading of 132 was unchanged compared to August. However, the barometer’s two sub-indices, the Index of Current Conditions and Index of Future Expectations, did shift in opposite directions. The Current Conditions Index rose to 135, while the Future Expectations Index fell to 130. Organizers of the survey say that while the decline in the Future Expectations index was modest, it could be an indication that some of the optimism that surfaced among producers in late 2016 and early 2017 is eroding. The Barometer surveys 400 agricultural producers monthly. A rating below 100 is negative, while a rating above 100 indicates positive sentiment regarding the agriculture industry.

The Senate Tuesday evening confirmed two Department of Agriculture officials, Stephen Censky as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and Ted McKinney as Undersecretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. The Senate confirmed the two on a voice vote. The action followed unanimous approval a day earlier by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Following the full Senate approval, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts issued a statement, saying he was “pleased” that the Senate acted swiftly. Roberts proclaimed: “Secretary Perdue, help is on the way.” Perdue has been the lone confirmed USDA appointed official since his confirmation vote back in the spring. Perdue said the two would “provide the steady leadership we need at USDA.” Censky comes from his position as CEO at the American Soybean Association, and McKinney comes from his position as Agriculture Director of Indiana.

Online source Axios reports that President Donald Trump told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to portray him as a “crazy guy” during the upcoming U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement meeting. South Korea will host the meeting with Lighthizer this week to discuss “ways to move forward” with KORUS. The meeting is the second on KORUS, following discussion between Korea and U.S. trade officials last month in Washington, D.C. In a conversation with cabinet members last month, Axios says Trump told Lighthizer “you’ve got 30 days,” to get conditions, or he would withdraw from the agreement. But, in the discussion, Trump went further, and said: “You tell them, ‘This guy’s so crazy he could pull out any minute.'” Trump followed up with “by the way, I might,” if the U.S. doesn’t get trade concessions from Korea. According to a USTR fact sheet, Korea is currently the fifth largest U.S. agricultural export market, with beef leading the way, followed by lemons, shelled almonds, cheese, cherries and wine and beer.

U.S. frozen beef exports to Japan are down 26 percent after Japan imposed an emergency tariff due to an influx of frozen beef from the United States. The tariff increased from 38.5 percent to 50 percent of the Japanese market, to protect domestic producers. Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports Japan’s frozen beef imports from the U.S. were 4,317 metric tons in August, down 26 percent year-over-year. However, the U.S. Meat Export Federation says it is possible that some of the August declines were due to additional product being ordered ahead of the duty rate increase. The July-August average was 9,816 metric tons per month, which is almost exactly the same as a year ago. Meanwhile, Japan’s August chilled beef imports from the U.S. were 13,721 metric tons, up 54 percent year-over year.

The North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation effort will return to Washington, D.C. this month for the fourth round of official talks. The negotiations will resume October 11th through the 15th, following a round of talks in Canada last month. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said progress was made in the most recent meetings “on a number of bread-and-butter trade issues.” Meanwhile, the U.S. has yet to introduce a proposal to increase protections for seasonal and perishable produce. The tabled issue is being closely watched by agriculture groups, Including the National Pork Producers Council, which says the proposal could provoke America’s NAFTA partners to push for mechanisms that make it easier to restrict U.S. farm exports. By U.S. law and official notices to Congress, the earliest a deal can be agreed upon and concluded is March of next year. But, Forbes speculates that would be too close to the midterm election cycle, as a comment period would extend into September 2018, even at the fastest pace, likely putting the potential final approval of a new NAFTA in 2019.