A Missouri peach farmer is suing Monsanto over 700 acres of orchard and timber damage believed to be caused by dicamba drift in 2016. DTN reports the farm lost more than 30,000 peach trees this year to alleged dicamba drift and another 7,000 trees last year, resulting in a $1.5 million gross loss of sales. Bader Farms from Southeast Missouri is the state’s largest peach farm and alleges Monsanto knowingly marketed its Xtend cotton and soybean seeds to farmers without any safe herbicide. The suit claims Monsanto knew the only option purchasers would have to protect crops grown from those seeds from weed pressure would be to spray dicamba illegally. In a prepared statement to DTN, a Monsanto spokesperson said: “While we sympathize with those who have been impacted by farmers who chose to apply dicamba illegally, this lawsuit attempts to shift responsibility away from individuals who knowingly and intentionally broke state and federal law and harmed their neighbors in the process.” Missouri agriculture officials are investigating 124 dicamba-related complaints this year.

Oil-producing nations struck a deal over the weekend to cut output along with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. The pact is designed to reduce a global oversupply of crude, lift prices and lend support to economies hurt by a two-year market slump. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today newsletter reports the agreement would remove 558,000 barrels a day of crude oil from the market on top of 1.2 million barrels a day in cuts already agreed to by OPEC, amounting to a total of almost two percent of global oil supply. The cuts, if carried out as described over the first half of 2017, would represent an unprecedented level of cooperation among oil-producing countries. However, oil market analysts have said prices would not go up if the bulk of the cuts were from countries where production is already expected to fall.

A class-action lawsuit against Syngenta regarding rejected exports is likely to head to trial next year, as scheduled. Online publication Agri-Pulse reports the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review a lower court’s certification order, allowing the lawsuit to proceed. Syngenta called the appeals court ruling “one step in a long process.” Multiple classes of farmers within the lawsuit are suing the company because a Syngenta biotech corn trait unapproved for export to China that was found in export cargos allegedly pushed corn prices lower in 2013. Lawyers for the farmers included in the lawsuit estimate the farmers lost between $5 billion and $7 billion in revenue because China stopped importing U.S. corn at the time. The nationwide class involved in the lawsuit is set for trial in June of 2017.

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, tops President-elect Donald Trump’s list to be the next Agriculture Secretary. The question remains, however, whether she will accept the post. Politico reports that if she leaves the Senate for the Department of Agriculture, Heitkamp will likely be giving up her Senate seat to a Republican. Democrats are hoping she would turn down the offer because it would give Republicans a chance to increase their thin majority in the Senate, which stands at 52 seats. However, former North Dakota Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan says Heitkamp can win reelection because North Dakotans “like and trust” her. Heitkamp met with Trump earlier this month and is also considered to be a potential Energy Secretary, though former Texas Governor Rick Perry is the likely front-runner for that post. Heitkamp is viewed as a vocal advocate for farmers and would be a small signal of bipartisanship under the Trump administration.

The Farm Credit System’s quarterly report says stress levels are still high in the ag sector of the economy. In fact, the operating report says stress levels are high in many different sectors of agriculture. Farm debt levels are still high while cash receipts continue to decline. Interest rates remain low but are slowly beginning to rise. That’s combined with commodity prices that’ll remain low thanks to record or near-record production in corn, soybeans, and wheat. All of these factors are also putting downward pressure on farmland prices. High production numbers are also weighing down price and profit margins in the dairy and protein industries. Overall, the quarterly reports say the Farm Credit System is financially sound and safe, well set against the risky environment in agriculture. The System reported modest loan growth, favorable earnings, and higher capital levels in the first nine months of 2016. The System’s portfolio loan quality is in good shape, but credit risk measures are showing increasing stress.

The Chinese government recently proposed a draft rule on food imports that has the European and U.S. governments concerned. Trade officials from both nations are concerned that the new rules could hamper billions of dollars in goods like coffee, pasta, and biscuits, that are all shipped to the number two economy in the world. The proposed rule is part of a push by China to increase its oversight of the country’s large food supply chain. The new rule for shipping food imports into China will require imports to have health certificates with them, even if the products are designated as low risk. Pork Network Dot Com says the new regulations will add costs and logistical headaches to a large number of companies that do business in China. Germany’s Ambassador to China, Michael Clauss, told Reuters, “The new draft has clearly crossed a line from protecting the consumer to outright protectionism of the domestic producer.” Chinese producers will not be required to meet the same standards. The Chinese Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine is the group that oversees food import safety and a Reuters request for more information from the agency was not responded to.

Monsanto and Bayer officials met together with about 200 members of the American Soybean Association and asked them to support the proposed merger between the two companies. Monsanto Chief Technology officer Robb Fraley and Bayer AG Board Member Liam Condon talked about the potential $66 billion-dollar acquisition of Monsanto with members of the ASA and the United Soybean Board at the USB Winter Meeting in St. Louis. Fraley told the crowd, “I’m here to ask for your support.” Farm Journal research says the merger would create a company controlling nearly 37 percent of the corn seed market and 30 percent of the market for soybean seeds. The deal is in the hands of regulators and won’t close until late next year. Condon reinforced the message he’s already given to regulators: that they’re willing to sell off where the companies overlap if objections are made on anti-trust grounds. Condon said those objections may happen in cotton and canola, saying those are two of the more likely areas.