The European Union and Canada are working to overcome doubts of other nations included in an EU-Canada free trade deal. The EU and Canada Wednesday announced a declaration spelling out the limits of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, to ease other EU nations, such as Austria, according to Reuters. Trade officials from Canada say the legally binding declaration on key issues would add no new elements to the deal, which Austria’s chancellor opposes in its current form. The trade agreement has been a key target of protests by unions and environmental groups who say it will worsen labor conditions and allow big business to challenge governments across Europe. The EU is expected to vote on the deal October 18th before a planned signing at an EU-Canada summit later in the month.

Through groups like the National Corn Growers Association and the American Farm Bureau, thousands of farmers are asking Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement quickly. NCGA says more than 6,000 farmers have written letters to Congress urging passage of the agreement this year. NCGA is delivering those letters to lawmakers this week. Meanwhile, Farm Bureau joined the National Association of Manufactures and others Wednesday in a letter to Congress asking lawmakers the same. The Farm Bureau letter told lawmakers “the status quo is not acceptable,” in calling for passage. NCGA President Chip Bowling stated to Congress: “Pass TPP and give America’s farmers and ranchers a chance to compete for the world’s business.” The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement represents 40 percent of the global economy and one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. President Barack Obama signed the TPP agreement earlier this year, but it now must be approved by Congress.

(Missourinet) – Missouri will be a major player in what could be a record fall harvest for U.S. farmers.

Jim Stuever, who farms in the southeast Missouri town of Dexter, started later than he wanted to.

“We wanted to start the last week of August. It rained for about ten to fourteen days there at the last of August. It kind of held us out of the field for a while,” says Stuever.

Stuever, whose crops are irrigated, says a wet spring and a dry spell during the summer caused some problems for corn. But, overall, he says yields are good.

“Some would give it a pretty wide range of 150-210. The big area it falls into just depending on fields, how well the irrigation is, the weather and how Mother Nature rains hit it,” says Stuever.

Some northwest Missouri farmers haven’t started harvesting their crops, including Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst. Hurst, who lives in Tarkio, says some of his neighbors in Atchison County have started harvesting corn.

“I’m hearing moisture of 20-21. That’s typically a little wetter than we’d like to start, but we’re getting close. We’re excited about it,” says Hurst.

The Missouri Ag Statistics office of the USDA says, as of Sunday, 25% of Missouri’s corn was harvested, similar to last year but below the average. Corn maturity at 82% is well ahead of last year.

Soybeans turning color reached 55%, ahead of the average. Soybeans dropping leaves progressed to 21%.

Cotton bolls opening reached 51%, compared to 49 % for the 5-year average. Sorghum harvest was 8% complete.

Officials in Canada are investigating the possible source of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus confirmed at a Manitoba farm last week. Canada’s government is concerned trucks might carry the virus between the U.S. and Canada and inadvertently spread the illness, according to Meatingplace. Manitoba is working to establish a quarantine zone following the confirmation of PEDv last week. The province previously reported nine confirmed outbreaks of PEDv on Manitoba farms since 2014 and six of those are now considered “PEDv Presumptive Negative.” Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Office is helping pork producers to boost biosecurity measures as follow-up programs are launched on 220 hog operations in the province. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also conducting its own investigation to determine the movements of the animals with PEDv and completing its own sampling and testing. PEDv killed some eight million piglets on U.S. farms in 2014 and Manitoba is a major exporter of piglets to the United States.

Vietnam is set to delay ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership until next year, as anxiety is rising over the deal in the U.S. Congress and the anti-trade presidential campaigns. A top government official in Vietnam has suggested the National Assembly hold off on a vote on the 12-nation deal during the next session starting in mid-October because “many countries in the world haven’t approved it.” Other nations included in the deal have expressed concern regarding the outlook for TPP given the current political mood in the U.S. regarding trade ahead of the November elections. Bloomberg says Vietnam, while fully supportive of the deal, usually operates cautiously on the global stage. Meanwhile, Australia has not specified when it will put the TPP before its own parliament, though Japan’s ruling party has indicated it plans to pass the agreement in a parliamentary session starting next week.

The American Farm Bureau Federation says Tuesday’s Senate report on the Clean Water Act proves the need for the Senate to act against the Waters of the U.S. rule. Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall says the case studies presented in the report reflect “the serious concerns” Farm Bureau has raised over the last two years. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works released the report this week that Farm Bureau says exposes “reckless and unlawful actions in enforcing the Clean Water Act.” Farm Bureau alleges the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers have unlawfully stretched the limited authority Congress gave the agencies. Specifically, AFBF says through the Clean Water Act, the federal agencies have regulated ordinary plowing, a normal farming activity exempted by Congress, and claimed authority to regulate tire ruts and puddles found on the farm. Duvall says the report shows the Senate should reconsider the measure to stop the Waters of the U.S. rule “at its earliest opportunity.”

Farm groups are showing caution regarding the recent merger and acquisition trend in the agriculture industry, while companies included in the trend say innovation will benefit from the changes. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, lawmakers heard from top agriculture and commodity groups along with agribusiness leaders. During the hearing, the National Farmers Union asked for more oversight on what NFU President Roger Johnson called “failing antitrust enforcement” in Agriculture. Groups such as the National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association indicated a desire to preserve competition, but add the mergers could allow for more agriculture biotech research. Agriculture industry companies at the hearing, including Monsanto and DuPont, say the mergers will allow for the expansion of innovation and choice for farmers. In calling the hearing, Committee chair, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, voiced concern that “further concentration in the industry will reduce choice and raise the price of chemicals and seed for farmers.” He warned that price increase would be ultimately passed on to the consumer.

China intends to invest the equivalent of $450 billion to modernize the nation’s agriculture sector. Politico reports the investment over the next four years is an effort to increase China’s agriculture industry’s efficiency and foster rural income growth. The Agricultural Development Bank of China said over the weekend that the bank had signed an agreement with China’s Ministry of Agriculture regarding the investment. The Ministry says the agreement will protect national food security, support the sector doing business overseas and develop China’s seed industry. However, as reported in China, it is not immediately clear whether this commitment is separate from the bank’s plan announced in May for poverty reduction in China via agricultural investments.