Republicans in the House of Representatives have tried for six years to advance a bill requiring Congressional approval for any new administrative rule projected to cost the economy more than $100 million annually. That same legislation failed three times in the Senate. Indiana Republican Todd Young is the newest Senate member to get behind the idea. He authored a bill as a member of the House before winning a Senate seat in the recent election. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today says the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act passed the House last week on a 237-187 vote. One amendment to the bill would require agencies to repeal existing rules to offset any expected costs of new rules. Another amendment would peg the $100 million impact number to inflation. Senator Rand Paul joined 23 other Senators in introducing a similar bill in the Senate, but Democrats are expected to block the bill there.

The U.S. has come to an agreement that should allow it to begin exporting eggs to South Korea for the first time ever. Negotiations took place as the Asian country is struggling with the worst outbreak of avian influenza in history. A Fox News article says egg demand is expected to pick up ahead of the country’s upcoming Lunar New Year holiday season, so negotiations have accelerated as a result. Jim Sumner, President of the U.S.A. Poultry and Egg Export Council says the two countries have agreed on health statements. The talks began after South Korea lifted its ban on U.S. imports of shell eggs after an avian influenza outbreak in America during 2015. More than 30 million birds have been culled after the recent outbreak, which began in November, and most are egg-laying hens. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent an email to members of the egg industry, saying it had “completed discussions regarding shell-egg exports to South Korea.” It’s good news for American producers who are coping with an oversupply of eggs that is driving down prices.

Soybean acres are predicted to rise as corn and wheat prices continue to struggle. Richard Brock of Brock and Associates in Chicago is predicting that planted acres will rise from 83 million this year to 87 million in 2017. That much of an increase would come with much more carryover. An Ag Web Dot Com article says the carryover stocks currently are 480 million bushels and Brock says that number could rise to 800 million bushels. He’s predicting that the biggest market movement next year will be soybeans heading lower. Brock’s forecast includes cash soybeans in Iowa around $6 a bushel and he calls this his “optimistic forecast.” Brock feels there are still opportunities ahead for producers, saying, “An opportunity is not necessarily just the market going up, but knowing which direction they’re going to go in and then taking advantage of that marketing.” He says it’ll be important to forward sell, aggressively price, and hedge your production and the producer who does that will have a big advantage over his neighbor who does nothing.

Syngenta agronomists are calling last year’s most noxious weed, Palmer Amaranth, the number one weed to watch for in 2017. It’s continuing to spread north into new states and shows resistance to multiple herbicide modes of action. Palmer Amaranth has earned the title of top weed as it’s reduced soybean yields up to 79 percent and corn yields 91 percent. Palmer Amaranth was found in Minnesota for the first time last fall, coming a year after the first sighting in South Dakota. States are now confirming the spread of Palmer Amaranth that is resistant to multiple herbicides. Last October, the University of Missouri identified an infestation that was resistant to glyphosate and PPO inhibitors. The more producers apply a particular mode of action, the quicker Palmer Amaranth not only becomes resistant but spreads those resistant genes to other locations. Things producers can do to help slow the spread include regular mowing of ditches, waterways, and field borders. They should also meticulously clean machinery like combines. To delay or prevent growth in fields, producers need a program that integrates a portfolio of herbicides together with complementary practices like crop rotation.

The world’s largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, said this week they’ve moved 87 percent of their pregnant sows out of gestation crates to group housing. The company is also on track to eliminate all gestation crates by the end of this year. If the company can complete the transition, it would complete a ten-year plan that began back in 2007. The move is seen as a win for the Humane Society of the U.S., which has led successful ballot initiatives in nine states to outlaw the crates. However, the Humane Society is not satisfied with the progress. President Wayne Pacelle is happy with the reforms but notes that cruel treatment continues. Pacelle noted in a blog post, “While Smithfield is moving toward group housing, it’s still confining pregnant sows into cramped spaces for several weeks at the beginning of their pregnancies. This is cruel, and if sows must be individually housed for a period, there’s no reason to give them a space so small they can’t turn around.”

Iowa agribusiness leader Bruce Rastetter is a Republican mega-donor who wants the incoming Trump administration to block mergers in the works between large seed and chemical companies. The deals between Bayer and Monsanto, DuPont and Dow, along with ChemChina and Syngenta are worth billions of dollars. Rastetter tells the Des Moines Register that the deals will limit competition, raise costs for farmers, and stunt job growth. He adds, “These mergers would accomplish the opposite of what the President-elect ran on, and that’s greater opportunity in America.” Rastetter says the motivation behind the deals is a clear one: “To increase prices and production costs for producers.” He says the federal government’s long and costly approval process for new biotech products and patent licenses is the driving force behind these mergers. Rastetter will press the administration and Congress to focus on changing regulations to make it easier for small businesses to compete, thereby improving competition and choices in the marketplace. The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United State signed off on the ChemChina purchase of Syngenta last year but that deal still faces more scrutiny in other countries.

The American Petroleum Institute wants regulatory relief from the incoming Donald Trump administration. During an annual event in Washington D.C. this week, API CEO Jack Gerard says 2016 could be a banner year, but only if Congress and the administration permit it. Gerard pointed to the Endangered Species Act and the Renewable Fuel Standard, according to Agri-Pulse. API has long supported repeal or significant reform of the RFS, and Gerard says legislation capping biofuel blending demand could be introduced in the new Congress. Ethanol groups called a similar bill introduced last year “flawed” and lacking logic. Gerard says the RFS “constrains free market forces” and limits consumer choice. President-elect Trump pledged his support for the RFS on the campaign trail and sources close to his transition team say his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, will also support biofuels. Pruitt, however, has been a vocal critic of the RFS in the past. But in a meeting with Midwest Senators Thursday, Pruitt said he would “follow the law” when it comes to the RFS.