The Ag Retailers Association, the National Farmers Union, and a host of other groups sent a letter to Congress opposing the possible privatizing of the nation’s air traffic control system. The groups say a proposal to privatize the national air traffic system is being pushed by many of the bigger airlines. The idea would take air traffic control out from under Congressional oversight and put it under the control of a board made up of mostly commercial interests. The board would oversee things like taxes and fees, to airport investments and access. The letter arrived this week as the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration. The letter says, “Rural communities, agriculture, and small businesses would stand to lose the most under a privatized system. There would be no Congressional oversight to ensure that all stakeholders and communities have access to equal transportation. A privatized system likely will direct most resources to the larger airport hubs in urban areas.”

Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the European Union’s approval of the ChemChina merger with Syngenta means the ball is likely rolling for the six biggest biotech companies to be whittled down to three by the end of this year. A day before the E.U. approved the deal, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission also okayed the deal as long as certain stipulations were met that require ChemChina to sell off parts of its business that overlap with Syngenta. Now that the U.S. and E.U. have approved the deal, the two companies need the approval of China, India, and Mexico to complete their $43 million deal. Politico says the next deal likely to close will be the biggest. It’s the $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont, which still requires the approval of the U.S., Brazil, and China. There’s still a $66 billion dollar deal between Bayer CropSciences and Monsanto to complete yet. The two companies are still looking for approval from up to 30 nation groups. However, they do expect to get an answer from the U.S. and the E.U. by the end of June, which they say would put the deal on track to be completed by the last quarter of this year.

The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing this week to look at how the tax code currently in place affects farmers, ranchers, and the rural communities they live in. The American Farm Bureau was one of the organizations giving testimony. Pat Wolff, Senior Director of Congressional Relations, told the committee that farmers and ranchers need more flexibility built into the tax code. The goal would be to give farmers the flexibility to grow during the good times and help them adapt to situations often beyond their control when tough times hit. The House has proposed ideas for tax reform, many of which the Farm Bureau supports. Some of the proposals include reducing income tax rates, reducing capital gains taxes, immediate business expensing, and repealing the estate tax. Wolff says Farm Bureau has ideas that would improve the proposed changes to the tax code, including reinstating benefits like the deduction for business interest expense and guaranteeing the continuation of stepped-up basis, cash accounting, and like-kind exchanges. “Running a farm and ranch business is challenging under the best conditions,” Wolff said in her testimony. “Farmers and ranchers need a tax code that recognizes the unique financial challenges that impact them.”

Monsanto this week announced increased sales and profits for the first half of its current fiscal year. Monsanto’s net sales for the second quarter increased to approximately $5.1 billion, up from $4.5 billion in the prior year period. Gross profit for the quarter also increased over the prior year to $3.0 billion versus $2.6 billion. For the first six months, net sales increased to $7.7 billion, and gross profit was $4.2 billion, significantly outpacing the first half of fiscal year 2016. The company says the performance was driven in part by strong gross profit growth from its corn and soybean businesses. For Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, Monsanto says it is expected to reach 18 million acres in the United States this year. A similar Monsanto product is anticipated to expand to 45 to 55 million acres in South America. In referring to the Monsanto-Bayer merger, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said in a statement that Monsanto’s “innovation and unique platform advantages” position the company to meet future challenges and makes Monsanto an “attractive, complementary partner for Bayer.”

A group of legislators are pressing the White House to raise the issue of U.S. beef trade with China when President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping today. A group of 39 Senators, including Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, have penned a letter to President Trump, asking him to raise the issue of U.S. beef access to Chinese markets. China has recently become the fastest growing beef market in the world, but U.S. producers have not had the opportunity to access the market since 2003. The effort was led by Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines. In the letter, the Senators say: “Opening this market to U.S. producers would create substantial opportunities for ranchers across the country.” The letter points out that China’s beef import market is worth more than $2.5 billion and is the second largest importer of beef in the world.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has placed a time for debate and a vote for the confirmation of Agriculture Secretary Nominee Sonny Perdue. The vote is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 24th, after what’s expected to be a couple of hours of debate. The Senate Periodical Gallery confirmed the vote, saying McConnell added it to the schedule as a unanimous consent request, according to the Hagstrom Report. The schedule puts to rest any speculation a vote could be held yet this week, as the Senate is stuck in a political battle over Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch. The vote is scheduled for the first day back for the Senate following a two-week recess. The vote comes 13 weeks after Perdue was nominated by President Donald Trump.

The Western Growers Association says recent comments by Attorney General Jeff Sessions indicate the Justice Department will focus on deporting felons, not farm workers. Sessions recently told Fox News the Justice Department does not intend to target illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes beyond illegally entering the country. Western Growers Association CEO Tom Nassif called the comments encouraging. Nassif says: “The Attorney General’s comments confirm what we in the agriculture industry have understood to be the Administration’s interior enforcement policy: ICE activities will be directed toward deporting felons, not farmworkers.” He points out that much of our agricultural productivity is owed to the hard work of foreigners, in particular, the harvesting the nations nutritious fruits and vegetables. With agricultural employers facing a chronic shortage of workers, Nassif says “we cannot afford to exacerbate this problem by threatening to deport our farmworkers, which the Administration clearly understands.”

The chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations panel says there will be no budget cuts this fiscal year. North Dakota Republican John Hoeven says the current fiscal year is “too far along” to make an adjustment now, as requested by President Donald Trump. The President has proposed an $18 billion cut in discretionary spending, including more than $1 billion from the Department of Agriculture. Hoeven told Politico earlier this week that appropriation bills will be at the 2017 funding levels set by Congress for this year. Any slashing of funding that may occur, as requested by President Trump, would likely be aimed at the spending package needed to keep the government funded past April 28th, when the current continuing resolution expires. Republican leaders in Congress remain confident an agreement on a spending measure will be reached, avoiding any potential government shutdown.