The Prime Minister of Singapore said if the U.S. doesn’t ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it will lose credibility in many countries around the world. He said some countries like Japan have gone out of the way to support TPP and it will mean a big setback for America. The trade pact is currently tabled in Congress until after the November election. An article on the website dawn dot com says the trade pact needs to be ratified by January or it could be a casualty of the presidential election as both major-party candidates have come out against it. The Prime Minister said he’s not optimistic it would be ratified after that. He said the one big thing America has to do is, “Settle the TPP, because it shows how serious you (U.S.) are about deepening relationships in the Pacific Rim and that you have a significant interest in upholding them.” He said the U.S. credibility in the region will take a significant hit if America doesn’t pass TPP.

New England farmers are being ravaged by a drought, and that’s adding to calls for changing disaster relief provisions in the next Farm Bill. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows a quarter of the region is suffering from severe drought or even worse. Politico’s Morning Ag Report says this extended dry spell comes after heavy snow and flooding hit the region over the winter. Part of the challenge in New England is a number of the smaller, diversified farms in the region have been slow to adopt provisions in the Farm Bill. Very few farms have signed up for the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program which is designed to help smaller and more diversified farms. Those farms also haven’t signed up in great numbers for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which the New England Farmers Union says may be due to some skepticism among farmers about crop insurance, several farmers who may not know the programs exist, and heavy reporting requirements. The New England Farmers Union also wants the cost of crop insurance programs cut, as well as disaster relief loan interest rates. They say the current interest rate for disaster relief loans is higher than rates for Farm Service Agency operating loans, and they’d like to see disaster relief loans be more affordable for producers in times of crisis.

American Soybean Association President Richard Wilkins responded to what he called “the inaccuracies and false conclusions in the article,” written in the New York Times about yield benefits and pesticide use when cultivating GMO’s. He said the article lacks any reference of reduced or eliminated tillage as a result of increased use of GMOs. He said, “GMO technology provides weed control without tilling the soil multiple times.” This fact has allowed farmers to increase use of conservation tillage practices, as well as reduced soil erosion, improved water quality, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The article called into question yield and pesticide results between the U.S. and Canada compared to western Europe. Wilkins said, “the author fails to standardize data from France when comparing it to the U.S. because America has nine times the amount of arable land. Also, the author made sensational and false links to Agent Orange and sarin gas.” Wilkins said the article fails to distinguish between even the most basic types of chemicals used. Over the past twenty years, farmers have replaced more toxic herbicides with less toxic options, even when applied at a higher poundage.

The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer turned lower in October, dropping to an index reading of 92, the lowest reading since last March. That’s also the lowest index since data collection began back in October of 2015. Producers’ expectations of the long-term health of the ag economy dove in October, with the Index of Future Expectations dropping to 95 in October, down from 109 in September and the July peak of 121. Producers responding to the survey are very pessimistic about the ag economy over the next year. 79 percent of respondents expect tough financial times over the next year, an 11-point jump from the September survey. Price expectations for corn and soybean between now and next year are mixed. One-third of producers expect corn prices to exceed $4 per bushel between now and July 2017. 30 percent of respondents expect July 2017 soybean prices to exceed $10 per bushel. However, 27 percent of respondents expect corn prices below $3 per bushel and 25 percent expect soybean prices below $8 per bushel. Producers also plan to make management changes next year because of the economy. 46 percent of respondents plan to lower fertilizer rates and 35 percent plan to adjust trait packages in their seed varieties.

A Northeast Arkansas farmer was killed during an alleged dispute over dicamba herbicide spray drift last week. Monette, Arkansas farmer Mike Wallace was shot and killed during a physical confrontation regarding the spraying of dicamba, according to DTN. Wallace farmed about 5,000 acres of corn, cotton and soybeans. He was quoted in The Wall Street Journal in this summer expressing concern that 40 percent of his soybean fields had been damaged by dicamba drift and he had filed a complaint with the state. Allan Curtis Jones of Missouri faces murder charges for the incident. The local sheriff told DTN that Jones met Wallace on a county road to talk about an unidentified dispute. Jones also brought his cousin along because he believed the meeting could lead to violence. Jones told deputies Wallace confronted him and grabbed Jones by the arm, so he pulled away, drew and fired a gun at Wallace. The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating multiple instances of off-label use of dicamba. Further frustrating farmers, insurance companies will not compensate farmers for losses caused by wrongful or “off-label” herbicide applications.

Farmers can now enroll in farm bill safety net programs for 2017. The enrollment period started today (Tuesday) and will continue until next August. Farm Service Agency Administrator Val Dolcini says producers on farms with base acres under the Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs can enroll. Dolcini says the FSA issued more than $7 billion worth of payments this year for the 2015 crop to assist farmers who suffered price and revenue losses. If a farm is not enrolled during the 2017 enrollment period, the producers on that farm will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC programs for the 2017 crop should crop prices or farm revenues fall below the historical price or revenue benchmarks. Producers who made their elections in 2015 must still enroll during the 2017 enrollment period. Farmers can enroll in the programs by contacting their local FSA office.

Critics of the Waters of the U.S. rule will file opening briefs today in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, opponents of the rule cannot use or cite internal memos from the Army Corps of Engineers in their filings. Those memos include comments from a top general objecting to the rulemaking process for WOTUS. But the three-judge panel hearing the case decided to bar most of those documents from the administrative record because they were deliberative process materials. Judges fear that allowing such documents into court could chill agency officials from speaking frankly during the rulemaking process, according to Politico. Groups filing complaints against the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency represent agriculture and mining companies alongside a handful of state attorneys general’s.

A study by The New York Times claims genetically modified crops offer no significant yield benefit and lead to increased herbicide use. An article published over the weekend by The New York Times says: “Genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.” The study compared data from the U.S. and Canada with Europe, which the study says has largely rejected genetic modification, to reach its findings. The study says herbicide use has increased in the U.S. at a time when genetic engineering was touted to reduce chemical use. Citing an Agriculture Department study, the New York Times says herbicide use has grown two and half times in the last two decades. Monsanto’s chief technology officer, Rob Fraley, alleges the Times “cherry-picked” data to reflect poorly on the industry. He told the Times: “Every farmer is a smart businessperson, and a farmer is not going to pay for a technology if they don’t think it provides a major benefit,” adding that “biotech tools have clearly driven yield increases enormously.”