Northeast Brazil poultry producers will not be buying any U.S. corn in the short term as they have most of what they need booked. This is in spite of the government’s decision to allow some genetically modified corn shipments from the U.S. into the country. Many producers already had deals in place to ship corn from Argentina even though freight costs to ship corn from the U.S. Gulf Coast are less than bringing it in from Argentina. Brazil officials haven’t ruled out shipments coming in from the U.S. Some of the trade talk says Argentina can only supply Brazil with corn through February of 2017. 15 total shipments are booked to come into Brazil, but officials say another 12 shipments may be needed before Brazil begins harvesting its own crop.

The plant’s electric supplier said Smithfield Foods Inc. hopes to reopen its Tar Heel, North Carolina facility on Thursday. The plant is the largest hog processing facility in the world. This will hinge entirely on whether or not employees can make it into work safely. It will also depend on whether or not farmers can deliver hogs as well. Hurricane-related disruptions are still causing problems in the pork industry. Through Tuesday of this week, hog slaughter is 101,000 head behind last week’s numbers. Kill numbers are also 52,000 behind last year. Buying interest outside of corrective trade in the industry probably won’t pick up until the supply backlog is worked through.

Estimates are that flooding has killed tens of thousands of livestock in North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Matthew. Governor Pat Mcrory said officials would work to clean up the carcasses as fast as possible to avoid freshwater contamination and a potential public health threat. A Washington Post article says the state is trying to avoid a similar problem it experienced back in 1999 when thousands of dead hogs and chickens floated for days in the floodwaters from Hurricane Floyd. The Governor added that a “lot of animals have died, in the thousands.” Matthew Starr of the Waterkeeper Alliance said photos show floodwaters up to the roofs of barns and, in his words, “the flooding is quite terrible.” Brian Long of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture said they have not received any reports of waste lagoons breached by floodwater, but it is a huge concern. It’s not just bad news for livestock farmers. Crop farmers lost millions of dollars in crops for the second year in a row. Ten straight days of rains in 2015 ruined the harvest in eastern North Carolina.

A Missouri judge ruled a St Louis man had no legal right under Missouri’s Right to Farm amendment to grow marijuana plants. The St Louis Post-Dispatch reports the judge sentenced Mark Shanklin to 120 days of jail time and five years’ probation after being found guilty of drug charges. The man didn’t dispute he was growing more than 300 marijuana plants in his home, but argued the Right to Farm amendment guarantees the right to cultivate marijuana. Missouri’s Right to Farm amendment was passed by voters in 2014 and states farming practices “shall be forever guaranteed in this state.” Shanklin argued that state laws prohibiting marijuana cultivation are at odds with the amendment. But the judge ruled that Marijuana is not a common item harvested, and that “even when constitutional amendments are designed to address government overreach…they are seldom intended to give citizens free rein to harm themselves or others.” A similar defense failed for a Jefferson City, Missouri woman in 2015 after being caught with nine marijuana plants in her basement.

A recent survey shows support for government interventions that limit, restrict or warn consumers about the risks of junk food has nearly doubled since 2012. Politico reports the FoodMinds survey found 70 percent of respondents felt the government should help consumers understand how junk food fits into a healthy diet. 30 percent of respondents felt the government should restrict or limit the availability of junk food. The survey polled 684 “opinion-leader shoppers” — a so-called subgroup of “politically aware,” “socially active” registered voters who are the primary grocery shoppers for their households. The poll also found 58 percent of Republican respondents support excluding soft drinks and empty-calorie foods from SNAP. For Democrats, 34 percent were in favor, 13 percent strongly opposed.

Syngenta says bridge financing for the ChemChina takeover of Syngenta is “committed and irrevocable.” The comments come after a news agency in China reported over the weekend that a $15 billion piece of the deal’s funding remains missing, citing several people it said were close to the deal, according to Reuters. A Syngenta spokesperson said this week “We have no comment to make on this article, and ChemChina is proceeding with their refinancing strategy.” State-owned ChemChina is borrowing heavily to buy Syngenta. The proposed $43 billion takeover is the biggest overseas offer ever made by a Chinese company and was expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday the U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering to purchase $20 million of cheddar cheese to reduce a private cheese surplus that has reached record levels. The announcement followed a roundtable discussion with dairy producers in Wisconsin. USDA will use the surplus cheese to assist food banks and other food assistance recipients. USDA predicts dairy prices will increase throughout the rest of this year, but low world market prices, increased milk supplies and inventories and slower demand have contributed to a sluggish market. The slow market has caused dairy revenues to drop 35 percent over the past two years. Vilsack says a solicitation will be issued shortly, and cheese deliveries to food banks and other food assistance recipients are expected to start in March of 2017.