The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed five more cattle from southeastern Alberta have been infected with the bacteria that causes bovine tuberculosis. Ag Canada reports the five animals were discovered during the removal and destruction of the initial cow’s index herd. The source of infection is still unknown. The investigation follows a notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that a cow from Alberta had tested positive for the disease at a U.S. packing plant. While the index herd is the only herd so far to turn up infected cows, quarantines remain in place on approximately 34 farms in Alberta and two in southwestern Saskatchewan. All cattle from the index herd are in the process of being removed from the ranch and humanely destroyed.

Great Britain’s exit from the European Union may open the door for British farmers to grow genetically modified crops. British officials are drawing up plans that could allow GM crops in the future. Britain’s Agriculture Minister said: “The government’s general view remains that policy and regulation in this area should be science-based.” Numerous scientific studies have shown the safety and benefits of GM crops, but are largely ignored across the EU. Only one type of genetically modified crop has ever been grown commercially in Europe. A UK farmer told the website Farming UK that exiting the EU means Britain is “open for business” when it comes to GM crops, adding “farmers would not choose to grow these unless they saw benefits.”

Country-of-Origin meat labeling will not be making a comeback under a Trump administration. Politico reports that Trump’s Agriculture Advisory Committee was quick to mobilize and inform Trump’s transition team that such a policy — which has been litigated in both the U.S. court system and the World Trade Organization — is a non-starter for most farm groups. Leaked portions of Trump’s plan for his first 100 days in office highlighted a provision to potentially include COOL in a renegotiation of NAFTA. Farm groups from Canada threatened trade retaliation if COOL in the U.S. were to be reinstated. But a spokesperson for Trump’s Agriculture Advisory Committee said no one knows how COOL got into the plan, adding COOL is “dead as a doornail.”

House Agriculture Committee Chair Michael Conaway has sent the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a letter urging against “pushing through controversial regulations” before President Barack Obama leaves office. The Texas Republican wrote that: “While we may not agree on which regulations are overreaching or unnecessary, we should agree that the American people have asked for someone else to make that judgment.” Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports specifically, Conaway requested that CFTC not move forward on position limits rulemaking and for the Commission to extend the comment period for Regulation Automated Trading.

At least six countries included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership aim to complete the trade deal with or without the United States. Reuters reports Mexico, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore are all pledging to continue forward with TPP if the United States does not. The six nations are among 12 signatories of the trade deal, which currently cannot take effect without being ratified by the United States. President-elect Donald Trump condemned the deal on the campaign trail, leaving its fate dim. However, Mexico’s Economy Minister recently said: “We determined that our countries will press ahead with this agreement independently of what Washington decides.” The trade deal could be implemented without the U.S. if it meets strict GDP requirements.

Midwest Ag bankers continue to raise serious concerns about the farm economy. An Ag Web Dot Com report says the Rural Mainstreet Index has remained below the neutral growth mark for 15 months in a row. Estimates are 70 percent of rural bankers are increasing collateral for ag loans because of the extended slump in the farm economy. Over the next 12 months, bankers are expecting a default rate of five percent on ag loans. Alan Hoskins of American Farm Mortgage said one of every four farmers is looking at a balance sheet in the red with negative cash flows per 2016 balance sheets. If agriculture sees a repeat of 2016 next year, that number could get worse. Hoskins says, “We may have to change that 25 percent to somewhere in that 35 to 40 percent range. The Rural Mainstreet Index expects one in five farmers to report negative cash flows this year.

Scientists can now manipulate a plant’s genes to help it use sunlight more efficiently. It’s a breakthrough that could possibly lead to more food grown for an expanding world population. Photosynthesis is how a plant converts sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into food. But the process is very inefficient, using only one percent of available energy. A plant’s protective system kicks in when there’s too much sunlight, allowing it to get rid of extra energy safely. Scientists genetically modified a part of that system and could increase leaf growth as much as 14 to 20 percent. An Associated Press article says the study was published this week in the journal Science. Scientists aren’t turning the protective system off and on, they’re modifying the system to make the plant turn it on and off faster than normal. The study’s lead author, Stephen Long, says, “Now that we know it works, it wouldn’t be too hard to do it to other plants. If you look at other crops around the world, it would increase yields by many million tons of food.”

The price of American farmland may be heading for its first significant drop since the mid-1980s. MetLife Agricultural Finance says that based on certain measurements, market conditions are the worst they’ve been since the Farm Crisis. Agri Money dot Com says land prices likely will fall 20 percent from the top end that was established early last year. MetLife, one of America’s largest ag mortgage lenders, said the slump will end sometime in 2018, blaming the pending downfall on low farm profits. MetLife expects corn and soybean prices to hit bottom next year, but the lower trend likely hangs on through most of 2017 because of record crop production this year. MetLife added lower cash incomes will lead to a reduction in inflation-adjusted farmland prices in 2018, the first significant correction since the ‘80s. Recent data shows farmland prices in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana dropping three percent from July-September of this year.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy Wednesday announced the inaugural class of Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions. The Champions are U.S. businesses and organizations pledging concrete steps to reduce food loss and waste in their operations 50 percent by the year 2030. Champions announced Wednesday include Campbell Soup Company, Conagra Brands, General Mills and Walmart, just to name a few. USDA Secretary Vilsack said: “The founding 2030 Champions have shown exceptional leadership in the fight to reduce, recover and recycle food loss and waste.” The EPA estimates that more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in our everyday trash, about 21 percent of the waste stream. USDA and EPA both say that keeping food in our communities and out of landfills helps communities and the 42 million Americans that live in food insecure households.