The National Farmers Union applauded the introduction of the “American Food for American Schools Act of 2016” Tuesday. The legislation aims to enforce provisions of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act that require school nutrition providers to purchase domestically produced and processed foods, to the extent practicable. NFU senior vice president of public policy Rob Larew says improving transparency and enforcement of the Buy American provisions allows the U.S. to “better support both American agriculture and child nutrition.” The legislation, introduced by California Democratic Representative John Garamendi, would require school nutrition providers to request a waiver from the Department of Agriculture should they decide to purchase a foreign food product, differing from the current law which does not require a waiver be requested.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman says years of negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership were not a waste of time, and the deal could still be implemented at some point. Speaking at a Politico event on trade this week, Froman says aspects of TPP— if not the deal itself —should be preserved and revived down the road. Froman told the crowd a clear takeaway from last week’s election results is that Americans are concerned they are on an unfair playing field globally. Froman says he is hopeful the benefits of TPP will be seen over time as the rest of the world moves on. He did not go as far to say TPP is “dead,” but referred to the trade deal as being in purgatory. Also speaking at the event, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, says while the agreement is on hold, “that doesn’t mean the entire trade agenda has to be.” He encouraged President-elect Donald Trump to focus on strengthening the problems he sees in trade agreements including TPP and NAFTA.

As expected, the outgoing Obama administration is throwing in the towel regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. DTN reports the White House will not seek a vote on the agreement during the lame duck session of Congress. Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress told the White House they would not advance the trade deal in the election’s aftermath, and Obama administration officials acknowledged the agreement has no path forward now in the United States. The move comes with little surprise following the election results and remarks by House and Senate leadership earlier this year. The Obama administration had campaigned heavily in support of TPP before the elections in an effort to garner more support. Now, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to withdraw from the trade deal.

The power of the Angus brand is seen everyday in beef cattle markets, and now the American Angus Association has set course to ensure its leadership position and quality incentives continue. The Board of Directors recently established a Long-Range Strategic Plan for the world’s largest beef breed organization, and CEO Allen Moczygemba shares what’s in store. From the start, the long-range plan was anchored by insight from all sectors of the beef industry: from seedstock to commercial cow-calf producers, from feeders to allied industry partners, and from marketers to retailers and academia. Repeatedly, input gathered through the planning process signaled leadership opportunities for the Angus breed and the American Angus Association, up and down the production chain. Association’s Long-Range Strategic Plan was unveiled at the recent Angus Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Visit www.angus.org to learn more.

Government weather forecasters say La Nina has officially arrived and will likely affect American weather patterns into next year. La Nina is the periodic cooling of water in the central Pacific Ocean that affects weather patterns around the world. An Associated Press article says current predictions say La Nina has a good chance to hang around into February. Mike Halper of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says, “It’s anticipated to be a weak and short-lived event.” In the U.S., a typical La Nina means wetter weather in the northern Rockies, Pacific Northwest, and the Ohio valley. It usually means a drier winter in southern California, the southeast U.S., and the southern plains. The most recent NOAA forecast called for a wet winter in the northern Rockies, Great Lakes region, Hawaii, and western Alaska. NOAA called for warmer and drier than normal conditions in the south, while the nation’s midsection was called a “tossup” in the most recent forecast.

Oil industry groups recently filed several petitions with the Environmental Protection Agency requesting changes to American biofuels programs. The EPA announced this week it will deny all of the petitions. A Reuters article says several groups wanted the Agency to begin a full rule-making process in order to change the “point of obligation” requirement in the Renewable Fuels Standard. The RFS establishes targets for the amount of biofuels that are blended into the nation’s fuel supply. Several groups wanted to do away with that obligation or push the obligation into the future because they say it burdens refiners that have little to no capacity to blend biofuels at their operations. Multiple refining operations say they’re being squeezed by higher costs from government mandates to blend increasing amounts biofuels into their products. The EPA did decide to open a 60-day public comment period on the topic, which the oil industry says is a sign that the issue is worth serious consideration. The oil industry has spent millions lobbying against the Renewable Fuels Standard. The industry says the targets set by Congress in the policy are unachievable without a serious overhaul of the nation’s infrastructure.

A European Union commission is looking into ways of protecting its farmers from environmental disasters and large price swings. To accomplish the goal, a group of experts are recommending that the E.U. adopt a U.S.-style private insurance system. The Commission recommends the E.U. move away from ad hoc-style disaster payments that were sent to farmers in 2015 and this year. The Commission wants to see a uniform system adopted across the Union. The group says such actions “are vital if the E.U. wishes to invest in improving the uptake of risk management in member states.” POLITICO Europe reports a recommendation to shift resources from the Common Agricultural Policy to fund an E.U.-wide risk management policy. They also want to fund a dedicated platform that could be used to share best risk-management practices to avoid financial difficulties when disasters hit or market prices drop substantially.

Japan’s lower House of Parliament passed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement this week. A German web publication says experts view the move as an empty gesture because U.S. President-elect Donald Trump rejects the deal. Japanese lawmakers approved the free trade deal that includes Japan, the U.S., and ten other countries that together make up 40 percent of the world’s economy. Outgoing U.S. President Obama championed the deal in the face of China’s increasing economic clout in the world economy. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made TPP a big part of his plan to revive the Japanese export sector of the economy. London-based Capital Economics said the Japanese hopes for TPP were “dead and buried,” and the upshot for Japan is substantial long-term economic losses with no TPP in effect. In September, President Obama warned that China is pushing for its own long-term trade deal with the Asian region and that America wouldn’t be welcome in any deal set up by China. President-elect Trump says he’s in favor of free trade deals but existing agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement weren’t negotiated with American interests in mind.