A poll by DTN-The Progressive Farmer shows confidence by farmers has increased since December 2016. The Agricultural Confidence Index for spring 2017 scored 130 overall, which DTN calls a significant improvement from the mostly neutral 98 for the December 2016 survey, and a complete flip from the pessimistic 75 score produced in spring 2016. The survey, conducted three times a year, determines farmers’ opinions about their current economic situation and about that situation in the year to come. The current conditions index within the survey was a pessimistic 70, but the index on future prospects was a record high 163.6, resulting in the overall score of 130. Researcher Robert Hill says questions asked in the survey are specific to income expectations, costs of inputs, and overall business conditions. Farmers are not asked about political, regulatory or other non-revenue-related issues. Agribusinesses showed a more subdued optimism. Business owners rated their current prospects at a mostly neutral 96.6, with future expectations slightly more optimistic at 119.3. The next Ag Confidence Index will be conducted just before harvest this year.

Vice President Mike Pence and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will travel to Japan to discuss trade later this month. The duo is scheduled to travel to Tokyo on April 18th. The U.S. officials will meet with Japan’s finance, foreign and industry Ministers. Japan is the top export market for the U.S. pork industry, and the National Pork Producers Council has urged the Donald Trump administration to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement with Japan. Republican Representatives Adrian Smith of Nebraska and Ted Yoho of Florida also recently introduced a House Resolution asking the administration to start the process of establishing a free trade agreement with Japan. Congressman Smith said the U.S. “cannot afford” to miss the opportunity to reduce trade barriers with Japan, “especially for U.S. agriculture producers.”

China has agreed to lift a barricade against U.S. beef exports, ending a ban on U.S. beef that’s been in place since 2003. The agreement was struck between President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping over the weekend. Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports the opportunity for U.S. beef exporters could be significant. The greater China region, which includes China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, is estimated as a $7 billion beef market. The agreement follows a coalition letter urging President Trump to restore beef trade with China. Led by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, The U.S. Meat Export Federation and the North American Meat Institute, the letter called access to China “essential to the future health of the beef industry.”

Data by the Department of Agriculture shows agriculture and agriculture-related industries contributed $992 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2015, a 5.5-percent share, the most recent USDA statistics.The output of America’s farms contributed $136.7 billion of this sum, about one percent of GDP. USDA says the overall contribution of the agriculture sector to GDP is larger than that figure because related sectors rely on agricultural inputs like food and materials used in textile production to contribute added value to the economy. In 2015, farming’s contribution to GDP fell for the second consecutive year after reaching a high point of $189.9 billion in 2013. A major reason for the downward trend has been falling commodity prices like corn and soybeans, which peaked around 2013 and have since declined by at least 30 percent. The food service category, eating and drinking places has expanded over a similar timeframe and may be a beneficiary of the lower commodity prices at the farm level.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah is hopeful his committee can advance the nomination of Robert Lighthizer, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, when the Senate returns from its two-week Easter recess. Hatch attempted a committee vote Thursday, but was forced to delay the vote after just one Democrat, Oregon’s Ron Wyden, showed to the committee meeting. Democrats on the committee are concerned that Lighthizer, who Reuters calls a veteran trade lawyer and Reagan-era Deputy Trade Representative, needs a congressional waiver from a 1995 law prohibiting USTR candidates from working on behalf of foreign governments. Wyden said Democrats’ concerns needed to be addressed, but he was “confident that we can find a way to have a positive, strongly bipartisan markup of Mr. Lighthizer.” The waiver could be included in a catch-all spending bill Congress needs to pass to avoid a government shutdown when the Senate returns April 24th. Committee Chairman Hatch said he was hopeful the committee could then send the nomination to the full Senate.

Mexico is taking a ‘sooner rather than later’ approach when it comes to potential changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement. A top Mexican official told CNNMoney last week: “It will be in the best advantage of the countries involved that we finish this negotiation within the context of this year.” That’s because Mexico will hold a presidential election in July of next year and the current president has reached term limits, meaning there is no guarantee the next administration will come to the negotiating table. Mexico’s top trade official argued it will be challenging to ratify a deal by mid-2018, but he would like to wrap up negations by the end of this year. The U.S. is already undergoing the administrative steps to start negotiations. The earliest that talks can take place would be the end of July. Mexico and the U.S. remain at odds of the details of the negotiations and Mexico’s trade negotiator warns the threat of tariffs from the U.S. risked opening a “Pandora’s box.” He argues that lobbyists in Mexico would urge him to strike back against major U.S. exports to Mexico like apples and corn.

If you’ve traveled across the midwest recently, then you may have noticed fields of purple in the countryside. No, that’s not a new cover crop you’re seeing, it’s actually a weed. That splash of early spring color you’re seeing is more than likely Henbit or Purple Dead Nettle. Aaron Hager, Weed Sciences Professor at the University of Illinois, notes the mild winter has provided ideal growing conditions for winter annual weed species. While the purple fields may look pretty to passers-by, they can be a headache for farmers. Hager notes the vegetation can attract unwanted pests to a field. He also says those fields will either require a thorough application of herbicide, or some intensive tillage work before they’ll be ready to plant this spring. According to Hager, late fall tillage could alleviate some of the hassles of winter annual weeds. However, he notes spring burn down applications of herbicides also work well for farmers wanting to control erosion. Either way, he says producers should be sure to limit as much early season weed pressure as possible for their crop. As the month of April progresses, midwest farmers are hoping the recent wet weather relents soon so they can begin seed bed preparation, and of course planting of the 2017 crop.