The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator nominee Scott Pruitt. Politico reports lawmakers on the committee have a long list of questions they want to ask the Oklahoma attorney general. Just last week, Senators from Midwest states held a meeting to question Pruitt on his stance regarding biofuels. Pruitt reassured the group he would follow the law on renewable fuels, Waters of the U.S. and other issues key for agriculture. The American Farm Bureau Federation “strongly endorses” the nomination of Pruitt as EPA administrator. Just last week, AFBF President Zippy Duvall called Pruitt an “ideal nominee.”

President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday announced his nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaving the Agriculture Secretary cabinet position the last to fill for the incoming administration. Trump announced during a rare news conference Wednesday David Shulkin as his Veteran Affairs Secretary nominee but offered no mention regarding the search for his Agriculture Secretary. The delay in picking a nominee for the Department of Agriculture is causing some concern within the agriculture industry, but the Trump Transition team continues to say the President-elect is looking for the best candidate.

China’s National Chemical Corporation and Syngenta submitted formal remedies to the European Union this week in an attempt to win approval by regulators of ChemChina’s planned $43 billion takeover of Syngenta. The companies submitted their comments on Monday and regulators have until Thursday to make a decision. The EU began its review back in October, citing concerns about overlapping portfolios of crop protection products between Syngenta and an Israeli company also controlled by ChemChina. Dow Chemical and DuPont Company also went before regulators this week to plead their case for their planned $60 billion merger. European Union regulators have concerns about what the merger will mean in terms of reducing research and development spending on agrochemicals. If that concern is merited, it could reduce innovation in an industry that’s absolutely critical to global food production. The Monday hearing was the last chance for the companies to make their case before regulators decide whether or not to approve the agreement. Dow and DuPont made an offer last July that regulators said left them in serious doubts about the deal being approved. The companies still have time to make another offer to alleviate EU concerns.

The U.S. grain price outlook and crop demand won’t see a lot of major changes in the coming year. That prediction comes from Dr. Pat Westhoff, Director of the Food and Ag Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri. Based on trends, Westhoff says prices will continue to be below average in 2017-2018 and be lower than 2016. Yields for grains and oilseeds increased by one percent per year since 1980, roughly the same rate as the global population growth. The harvested area for wheat, corn, and soybeans has increased by 17 percent from 2002-2014 and world per capita consumption increased 16 percent. He says an increase in ethanol production and Chinese per capita demand had the greatest effect on grains and oilseed markets. Biofuels growth has slowed and increasing Chinese demand is becoming doubtful, so grain and oilseed markets will continue along their current trends for those reasons.

A recent survey shows that U.S. pig farmers are complying with the new federal rules regarding antibiotic use in their animals. The November survey done by the National Pork Board showed that 95 percent of farmers were ready for full compliance well before the January first deadline. Jan Archer, Pork Board President, says, “The pork industry has worked toward the deadline for two years. Pig farmers are committed to making the necessary changes regarding antibiotic use, with many discontinuing antibiotic use for growth promotion years ago.” One of the biggest keys to the rule changes is antibiotics that are medically important to humans could no longer be used for growth promotion. A big challenge for the industry is ensuring that producers in remote locations have an established relationship with a veterinarian. One of the new ideas to help out with that is an online veterinarian locator at Pork Dot Org Forward Slash Antibiotics. “Complying with the new rules is critical to maintaining consumer trust in the high quality and safety of pork produced in the U.S.,” Archer says.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Monday a wild duck shot in Montana was carrying the H5N2 strain of avian influenza. That’s fueling calls to scrap a USDA proposal to allow organic poultry more access to the outside. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today report says the sick bird was harvested for surveillance purposes. Farmers are concerned the sick bird might be the forerunner to another avian influenza outbreak like the one that decimated American poultry flocks in 2014 and 2015. The USDA said in a statement that it hasn’t found any illness in domestic flocks. The USA Chief Veterinarian said the duck “appears to have suffered from one of the strains that caused the previous outbreak. It’s a powerful reminder that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is still out there in wild birds, so producers need to be vigilant about biosecurity to protect domestic poultry.” Large organic egg producers point to that as the main reason for the USDA’s National Organic Program to scrap its efforts to require organic poultry to have access to the outdoors. The large producers say the risk of avian influenza is “precisely the reason we’ve opposed USDA’s misguided efforts to force organic hens to be exposed to the outdoors.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council support the introduction of the Improved National Monument Designation Process Act. The bill is sponsored by Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with 25 co-sponsors. The bill would require congressional and state approval to designate a new monument. “Executive branch abuse of the Antiquities Act has moved it far beyond its original intent, with devastating effects on local economies,” says NCBA President Tracy Brunner. “It’s unacceptable for any President to have this much unilateral authority over land-management decisions. Impacted local communities and the American people deserve a seat at the table as well.” Under the 1906 Antiquities Act, any President has the power to establish a national monument without the approval of Congress, state and local governments or even people who live in impacted communities. President Obama has taken full advantage of this executive power, using the Act more than any other president and locking up millions of acres in the process.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed a motion in court this week to dismiss the Humane Society’s lawsuit against the agency over the National Pork Producers Council selling the “Pork, the Other White Meat” trademarks to the National Pork Board. NPPC sold the trademarks to Pork Board for $35 million dollars, financed over 20 years, making the annual payment $3 million. In 2012, The Humane Society of the U.S., a lone Iowa farmer, and the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement filed a suit against USDA, saying the trademarks were overvalued and wanting the sale rescinded. During settlement talks with HSUS, USDA conducted a valuation on the trademarks, saying their current worth is between $113 and $132 million. In the recent filing, USDA says the lawsuit lacks merit, is barred by the statute of limitations, that the plaintiffs didn’t show standing necessary to file the lawsuit, and didn’t show they were harmed by the sale.