The farmers share of the food dollar has reached an all-time low. For every dollar American consumers spend on food, U.S. farmers and ranchers earn just 14.6 cents, according to a report recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

This value marks a 17 percent decline since 2011 and the smallest portion of the American food dollar farmers have received since the USDA began reporting the data in 1993. The remaining 85.4 cents cover off-farm costs, including processing, wholesaling, distribution, marketing, and retailing. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says the data, among other economic conditions, shows “we are in the midst of an agricultural financial crisis.”

Johnson points out that conditions for farmers have been eroding since 2011, and “many have already made the heartbreaking decision to close up shop.” In the past five years, the United States lost upwards of 70,000 farm operations. Johnson is hopeful the report “will open policymakers’ eyes” to the financial challenges in agriculture.

Lawmakers return to Washington next week with a renewed industry push to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Following the International Trade Commission Report, few steps remain to reach implementation. Vice President Mike Pence touted the deal during a stop in Michigan this week, and a road tour from Farmers for Free Trade is crossing the country building support for passage of the agreement.

The ITC Report found the agreement will increase U.S. agricultural exports by $2.2 billion, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Trump administration must submit the final text of the agreement to Congress 30 days before it is formally introduced. The House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee may then take up to 45 days before introducing the bill to the full bodies of Congress.

The bill will be considered by the House first, followed by the Senate. Because of Trade Promotion Authority, the deal will be considered with no amendments on an up or down vote.

The U.S. and Japan are meeting again to wrap up the week in the second round of trade talks. Japan’s Economy Minister is meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Meanwhile, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to meet President Donald Trump Friday in Washington.

The negotiations continue to focus on reaching a quick agreement on agriculture and automobiles. The U.S. wants better access to Japan’s agricultural products market, as trade agreements between Japan and other nations have made products from other countries more lucrative to Japanese buyers.

Nearly 100 farm groups sent a letter to Lighthizer this week outlining the market loss U.S. producers are facing from competing trade agreements, including the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, the agreement Trump removed the U.S. from upon taking office. Just last week, the U.S. and Japan agreed to accelerate trade talks to reach a fast agreement.

Today, the entire Missouri congressional delegation, including U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley, and U.S. Representatives Sam Graves, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Vicky Hartzler, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Ann Wagner, Wm. Lacy Clay, Billy Long, and Jason Smith sent a letter to President Trump supporting Governor Mike Parson’s request for a disaster declaration for 13 counties impacted by severe flooding. The disaster declaration is a necessary step for these counties to be able to access federal resources for recovery efforts.

“The severity and magnitude of the flooding has caused several communities to be evacuated and has resulted in the destruction of homes, farms, and businesses,” the delegation wrote. “We respectfully request your prompt action to ensure that these communities receive the immediate support needed to respond to the disaster. Along with our fellow Missourians, we appreciate your attention to this request and stand ready to assist in any way possible.”

U.S. farm banks increased agricultural lending by 5.3 percent, or $5.5 billion, to $108 billion in 2018. The American Bankers Association recently released its annual Farm Bank Performance Report. The report found that in 2018, farm banks’ asset quality remained healthy and non-performing loans stayed at a pre-recession level of 0.52 percent of total loans.

The report is an analysis by ABA’s economic research team based on FDIC data and examines the performance of the nation’s 1,700 banks that specialize in agricultural lending. ABA defines farm banks as banks whose ratio of domestic farm loans to total domestic loans is greater than or equal to the industry average.

Of those loans, more than 94 percent of farm banks were profitable in 2018, with more than 63 percent reporting an increase in earnings. Farm banks also served as job creators, adding more than 1,500 jobs in 2018, a 1.8 percent increase, and employing more than 86,000 rural Americans. Since 2008, employment at farm banks has risen 24.4 percent.

The U.S. and China will resume trade talks next week. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will travel to China to meet with trade officials along with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. China is also expected to return to the U.S. for negotiations on May 8th. Next week’s discussions will cover intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases, and enforcement, according to a White House statement.

Both sides appear hopeful to reach a draft agreement by the end of May. The negotiations, which stem from the tit-for-tat trade war last year, bring hope that tariffs will come to an end for U.S. agriculture. However, the ongoing African swine fever outbreak in China, which is forcing a more than 20 percent drop in China’s hog production, will also reduce demand for soybeans and feed products, a top agriculture export product for the United States.

If the two sides can reach a favorable agreement, the U.S. could be in a position to provide addition pork exports to China to cover the production loss. Already the losses in China in the hog population have more than exceeded the entirety of the hog population in the U.S.

Many farms in China infected with African swine fever are not restocking with pigs. Bloomberg News reports that 80 percent of farms infected with the deadly virus are not restocking, leaving a significant gap in production. China is the world’s largest pork producer, but agriculture officials in China say production has dropped 21 percent since African swine fever was first reported last August and, a new outbreak on an island province was reported over the weekend.

The declining hog production in China will result in lower demand for soybeans and feed products, but an increase in the need for pork products. Officials in China say, “if confidence among breeders fails to recover, it will hurt consumers.” They predict pork supplies could start to tighten and prices may hit record levels in the second half of the year, before tightening further in 2020. Pork accounts for more than 60 percent of meat consumption in China.