Canada announced funding support for ranchers that are currently under a federal quarantine stemming from a bovine tuberculosis investigation in Southeast Alberta. Online publication AgCanada reports the ranchers who are having to feed and maintain quarantined cattle they cannot move or sell can expect a federal AgriRecovery plan to help cover the costs. The government will be working with the Alberta cattle industry “in the coming days” on program details. Funding for what will be called the 2016 Bovine Tuberculosis Assistance Initiative is still pending final authorization, but will start “as quickly and simply as possible.” Costs eligible for the program would include feeding and water infrastructure, animal feed, transportation, cleaning and disinfection, as well as interest charges on loans due to the circumstances. Around 50 cattle ranches are under quarantine after a U.S. packing plant reported bovine tuberculosis was found in a cow from Alberta earlier this year. Many of the cattle within the quarantine zone are slated to be destroyed, according to Canada’s government.

The U.S. ethanol industry continues to have a “low level of concentration and a large number of market participants,” according to the annual Ethanol Market Concentration Report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The agency’s annual update concluded: “The exercise of market power to set prices or coordination on price and output levels, is unlikely.” Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today says the report was approved 3-0 and echoes assessments from prior years. U.S. ethanol industry margins through the first nine months of 2016 followed a seasonality pattern similar to that seen in 2015. Margins were negative or low in January of 2016 but increased and remained positive as demand surged during the spring and summer driving season. The FTC is required under the 2005 energy law to release the report annually.

A Texan being considered by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Environmental Protection Agency wants to end subsidies for renewable energy. Kathleen Hartnett White confirmed to the McClatchy Washington news bureau this week she is being considered to lead the EPA, following a meeting with President-elect Trump. Hartnett White, along with Trump, both show an interest in slashing regulations by the EPA, including the Waters of the U.S. rule, vastly opposed by agriculture groups. White also wants to cut federal subsidies for renewable energy, which total an estimated $7.3 billion. She says all energy sources would be welcome should she head the EPA, but “they need to have a level playing field in which to compete.” She specifically took aim at wind and solar for their “high” subsidies. During the campaign, Trump said the EPA would be gutted if he is elected.

Despite the threat of the United States pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Australia’s parliament is not leaving the deal for dead just yet. Australia’s Treaties Committee is recommending ratification of the trade deal following a thorough review of the agreement. The recommendation comes as the final report from the committee recognizes a “resurgence of nationalism and isolationism internationally,” according to Politico. The official report gives the government the green light to submit TPP to lawmakers for final approval. Despite U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to leave the trade agreement on day one of his presidency, many of the other 11 nations included in the trade agreement are moving forward with approving the deal and hoping Trump will reconsider the agreement.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this week the federal agency would consider re-listing the lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species. The announcement comes despite the fact a Texas court ordered the agency to withdraw a proposal to list the lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species last year. The Fish and Wildlife Service in May dropped an appeal against the court order, ending the agency’s pursuit of listing the lesser prairie chicken. The agency gave no explanation for dropping the appeal, saying only that efforts to protect the species would continue, according to DTN. The Fish and Wildlife Service says the reconsideration follows a petition to list the lesser prairie chicken as endangered. The Agency will again conduct a status review of the species to determine what action to take. However, Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, says he is hopeful private/public conservation efforts to preserve the bird would be allowed to work. Inhofe says he is confident the incoming Trump administration is aware that state conservation is sufficient to protect the lesser prairie chicken.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the Farm Income and Financial Forecasts for 2016 shows the health of the overall farm economy is strong in the face of challenging markets. Released by the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service, the report shows final income for 2016 is expected to decline after dropping in 2015 following record highs between 2012 and 2014. Net cash farm income is forecast at $90.1 billion and net farm income at $66.9 billion for 2016. Net cash farm income is expected to fall by 14.6 percent in 2016, while net farm income is forecast to decline by 17.2 percent. Vilsack noted that debt to equity ratios—two key indicators of the farm economy’s health—continue to be near all-time lows. Further, Vilsack says higher off-farm earnings are expected to help stabilize losses due to low commodity prices for rural communities.

U.S. importers and exporters are worried about President-Elect Donald Trump’s anti-trade views that could significantly dent their revenue if Trump follows through. For his part, Trump has scaled back on his campaign threats, but the American Association of Exporters says businesses are still worried as they assess where they are vulnerable. USA Today says if Trump would follow through with imposing a 45 percent tariff on Mexico and China, impacts include replacing Boeing aircraft orders by Airbus, U.S. auto and iPhone sales will suffer a setback, and for agriculture, U.S. soybean and corn imports will be halted. Boeing is the largest U.S. exporter with about 70 percent of its revenue derived from abroad, and China is the company’s biggest customer. Any trade war that would develop during the Trump administration would significantly hurt U.S. agriculture exports, and the National Pork Producers Council says the pork industry would be forced to cut production, raising prices for U.S. consumers.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead, at least in its current form. Republicans in Congress are increasingly talking about somehow salvaging the trade deal, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to walk away from the agreement. Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said this week he did not believe Trump’s threats to tear up trade agreements should be taken at “face value.” Politico says he also speculated that Trump may seek to negotiate bilateral deals with the other TPP countries. Meanwhile, House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chair, Representative Dave Reichert of Washington State, says he is “not giving up” on TPP or possible bilateral trade deals. Reichert says the path forward is to focus on the specifics of TPP — potentially making any number of changes to the 12-nation agreement that has already been through five years of negotiations.