Overall inflation over the last 12 months increased 2.1 percent, but food prices remain unchanged. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers was up .3 percent in December, with gasoline prices up three percent. But the food-at-home index fell 0.2 percent, its eighth consecutive decrease that reflects an overall 0.2 percent decrease over the last 12 months. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes fell in December. The fruits and vegetables index posted the largest decline, falling 1.1 percent as the index for fresh fruits declined 2.2 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs fell 0.4 percent in December as the beef index fell 0.8 percent and the index for eggs decreased 3.9 percent. The index for nonalcoholic beverages fell 0.3 percent, and the cereals and bakery products index declined 0.1 percent. The index for dairy and related products increased 0.4 percent in December after falling in November, and the index for other food at home rose 0.3 percent.

Exporters in Canada are scrambling to avoid a potential 10 percent import tax promised by new U.S. President Donald Trump. In evaluating options, some are even considering moving production or supply lines south of the Canada border into the United States. Amid warnings from the Bank of Canada last week protectionist policies brought in by Trump could drive companies to invest in the U.S. rather than Canada, executives told Reuters their search for options has already begun. National Bank Financial estimated a 10 percent border tax could cause Canada’s total exports to the U.S. to drop by about nine percent, with non-petroleum goods sinking almost 11 percent. Exports are expected to drive about a third of Canada’s economic growth in 2017, behind only consumption and government spending.

With an Agriculture Secretary nominee and a new administration in place, President Donald Trump has sent policy adviser Sam Clovis to lead the transition at the Department of Agriculture. A team assisting Clovis will hire staff and begin crafting policy while Agriculture Secretary Nominee Sonny Perdue awaits Senate confirmation, according to Politico. USDA is home to 250 political post from deputy to undersecretaries to chiefs of staff and state Farm Service Agency administrators. Many of the positions do not need confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Brian Klippenstein, who led the USDA landing team, is expected to have a role in the transition as well. In all, President Trump will deploy a team of more than 500 temporary appointees to handle transition duties at multiple agencies to fill roughly 5,000 political positions across the Trump administration.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A subsidiary of Magellan Midstream Partners will complete $16 million in upgrades to pipelines and pay a $2 million fine as part of a federal settlement following pipeline ruptures in three states.

Federal officials said in a statement Thursday that the first incident occurred in February 2011, when a pipeline carrying petroleum ruptured north of Texas City, Texas, spilling hundreds of gallons. Later that year two lines were ruptured when struck by heavy machinery near Nemaha, Nebraska, causing more than 2,800 gallons of diesel and jet fuel to spill.

The third leak spilled about 1,800 gallons of diesel near El Dorado, Kansas, in May 2015.

Magellan is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The settlement is unrelated to a Magellan leak of anhydrous ammonia in Nebraska that killed a farmer last October.

Business interests, along with agriculture groups, want the new administration to reconsider the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal incoming President Donald Trump vowed to drop on “day one” once in office. The Wall Street Journal reports the groups are arguing that the Trump administration does not have to accept the current agreement negotiated by the Obama administration. Rather Trump could look to make changes to the deal, rename it and turn TPP into a Trump initiative to boost U.S. exports to Asia and write new trade rules for the Asia Pacific region. Among those urging the Trump team to take another look at an Asia-Pacific deal are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the American Farm Bureau and a number of companies. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would mean billions of dollars in agriculture sales thanks to improved exports, but chances are still slim of seeing the agreement move forward in the near future.

While the outgoing administration dumped a last-minute organic animal welfare rule on agriculture, Congress seems poised to block the new regulation, according to Politico. Bipartisan leadership from both the House and Senate agriculture committees condemned the rule following its announcement by the Department of Agriculture. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service administrator said the new standards “allow producers to compete on a level playing field.” However, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts said the costs of complying with requirements that livestock and poultry have outdoor access could put some producers out of business.” The Kansas Republican promised to work with USDA under the new administration to “ease this overregulation.” Ranking Democrat from the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow expressed disappointment in the rule, saying USDA “missed an opportunity” to set standards that did not risk unintended consequences. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway blasted the outdoor access requirements under the rule. The Texas Republican linked the requirement to susceptibility to highly pathogenic avian influenza, saying the rule was “particularly concerning” given the detection of the virus in a wild duck in Montana earlier this month.

By now, agriculture is familiar with his name, but what about the history behind Donald Trump’s nominee for Agriculture Secretary? Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is set to become the next Agriculture Secretary if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. After switching parties, the now 70-year old was first elected as Georgia’s governor in 2003 and was the state’s first Republican Governor in nearly a century. In his two terms as governor, Perdue presided over the state’s top-ranked agricultural economy. Perdue is a trained veterinarian but is more familiar with crop production. He is a founding partner for AGrow Star, a grain business with 11 elevator locations across Georgia and South Carolina, according to DTN. At the time of the announcement, he was serving on several boards, including the National Grain and Feed Association and the Georgia Agribusiness Council. Perdue also served as president of the Southeastern Grain and Feed Association in 1988. He will be taking over for former Secretary Vilsack after he left office early last Friday.

Agriculture groups in droves announced support for Agriculture Secretary Nominee Sonny Perdue. The Trump administration transition team confirmed the selection of Perdue Thursday. The announcement this week drew immediate praise from general farm groups to livestock and grain organizations. Perdue first met with then President-elect Donald Trump in November after the election. Following that meeting, several candidates were considered for the job before Trump came back to Perdue. He must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Republican from Kansas, said he looks forward to the process. In a statement, Roberts said: “Everyone in farm country is having a hard time. We need a Secretary who can recall the 1980’s and will do everything within their power to make sure we do not return to those conditions.” In regards to Perdue, Roberts added: “together, we must get to work addressing these immediate and future challenges.”

Buyers in China have canceled up to seven ethanol import shipments due to arrive by April, the first sign a likely hike in import duties is threatening to stall demand. The import tariff is likely to rise to 30 percent from five percent and would shut imports out of the market based on current prices, according to Reuters. Seven cargoes could equate to between 266,000 and 443,000 cubic meters of ethanol. Ethanol shipments to China in the first 11 months of 2016 hit 765,000 cubic meters, up 51 percent on the prior year, while 2015 imports of 686,000 cubic meters soared 2,741 percent from the year before. There has been some confusion over the 2017 tariff after the government said it would adjust the tax to “protect” the domestic industry but did not provide further details. If the tariff moves forward, U.S. ethanol shipments to China would stall due to a lack of profit margins.