The U.S. Grains Council says Saudi Arabia has nearly doubled purchases of U.S. corn this marketing year due to a combination of favorable government policy shifts, competitive prices and market development work by the Council. So far in the current marketing year, Saudi Arabia has purchased 2.07 million metric tons of U.S. corn, or 81.5 million bushels, up significantly compared to the prior five-year average of 861,000 tons. Changes to local policy have helped spur these shifts. A second policy shift in 2016 began the phase out of domestic wheat production, which had been utilized primarily for feed, to help conserve Saudi Arabia’s water resources. The Grains Council says the market offers demand potential, but requires extensive market development work. The Saudi dairy industry is one of the most modern in the world and the country’s large poultry industry processes fresh product for domestic use as well as sales to neighboring Gulf countries. While these industries are quick to adopt new technology and ideas, they are still relatively unfamiliar with U.S. co-products.

If President Donald Trump does intend to follow through on his threats to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada and Mexico will opt to stay in. Mexico’s Economy Minister told Reuters last week that Mexico and Canada would remain in the accord, even if the Trump Administration abandoned the free trade agreement. Trump argues the agreement has cost the United States jobs and industrial capacity, while Mexico says the integration of the region has made it more competitive, helping to protect jobs. Depending on the year Canada is either the largest or second largest export destination for U.S. agriculture, while Mexico is consistently the third largest market. Combined, they account for about one-third of U.S. agricultural exports. Since implementation, agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have totaled approximately $310 billion and increased by more than 300 percent from pre-NAFTA levels, according to the American Farm Bureau.

Canada-based Global News reports U.S. President Donald Trump may terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement to get more from Mexico and Canada during the ongoing renegotiation effort. Round two of the negotiations started Friday in Mexico City, Mexico. Most analysts believe the heated rhetoric is a negotiating tactic – but that doesn’t mean Trump won’t actually start the process of terminating the agreement. President Trump could trigger the process and then stop it at the last minute. Any move to begin the termination process would be met with stiff U.S. opposition, including opposition from the Agriculture industry, as Mexico and Canada are two of the industry’s biggest trading partners. Further, Carla Hills, who presided over the original NAFTA talks for the U.S., says Trump is not likely to terminate the deal “anytime soon.” She says those in the Trump Administration assure her the President was referring to a mechanism that could be enacted five years from now, after an assessment had been made into whether all three parties had met their commitments. The current round of trade negotiation wraps up Today.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of business leaders suggests more economic growth lies ahead for nine Midwest and Plains states.

A report released Friday says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 57.5 in August from 56.1 in July. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says it “points to solid growth for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing for the rest of 2017.”

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

There are an estimated 3.1 million acres of possible dicamba damage in many parts of the country. Farm Journal says researchers are working to figure out what it will take to make sure farmers have long-term access to the chemical. Dicamba is currently on a conditional two-year label. Monsanto says the product label is accurate as it is and more education about following the label is essential for the future of the product. Ty Whitten, a Monsanto Crop Protection lead, says they’ve been on over 1,000 calls and everything they’ve found supports the label as it stands. He says, “If growers follow the label, they have success.” Whitten notes that even the smallest variation from the label could result in off-target movement. Factors like wind speed, sprayer speed, nozzle types, temperature inversions, and boom height, are all critical to making sure the dicamba stays where it should. Whitten says what happens at application is the key to influencing how far the product can potentially drift. For example, a boom height of more than the recommended 24-inch maximum can more than double the potential for dicamba drift.

President Donald Trump is once again threatening to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement. USDA Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue spoke with the president this week about the merits of the trade deal. Bloomberg says Perdue is working to convince Trump that NAFTA has been a boon to agriculture. Perdue said the deal does have “rough edges” that could be improved upon. The U.S. is one of the world’s biggest agricultural exporters and Mexico and Canada are both major buyers. Bloomberg says tearing up the 23-year-old deal would put Trump up against the rural base of voters that played a large part in his election. Perdue says during recent conversations with Trump that, “He’s concerned about American agriculture, but he’s also concerned about trade deficits in other parts of the economy, especially in automobiles and manufacturing.” Perdue is hopeful that the White House can find solutions that reconcile and resolve those issues. The secretary says the primary concerns he’s hearing from farmers about the NAFTA talks include labor, regulations, and trade. The second round of talks is September 1-5.

The Dow-DuPont merger closed Thursday. The deal was worth $150 billion and several spin-off companies could be formed soon. The Des Moines Register reports the first spinoff could be a combination of Pioneer and Dow AgroSciences. The reason that spinoffs could be formed soon is Dow and DuPont are under pressure from investors to create several smaller companies, now that the deal is complete. Dow and DuPont had initially proposed creating three smaller companies after the deal wrapped up. Investors are said to be pushing for as many as six independent companies. The merger gained final approval from regulators in June and it has farmers, employees, and state and federal leaders worried. U.S. farmers are staring into the face of a massive wave of consolidation. In addition to Dow-DuPont, ag giants Monsanto and Bayer AG are merging, as are Syngenta and ChemChina. Before the deal was finalized, Dow and DuPont argued that merging would help them cut costs and drive seed and chemical innovation. However, a Texas A & M study shows seed prices rising 2.3 percent for corn and 1.9 percent of soybeans after both the Dow-DuPont and Monsanto-Bayer mergers.