Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts postponed Today’s (Thursday’s) planned markup of his GMO labeling bill until next week. The Kansas Senator said in a press advisory the markup was postponed “due to changes on the Senate floor,” adding the new time will be announced later. Roberts distributed a letter of support for his bill Wednesday, according to the Hagstrom Report. The letter was organized by the Coalition for a Safe, Affordable Food Supply, a group that opposes state labeling laws. The bill would serve as a national voluntary GM labeling standard that pre-empts state laws, such as the Vermont mandatory labeling law taking effect this July. So far, no Democrats have publicly announced support for the bill in its current form. Roberts has indicated the bill is subject to amendments and was designed as a framework for the labeling discussion.

President Barack Obama Monday said he was “cautiously optimistic” Congress will support the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Speaking to a delegation of state governors at the White House earlier this week, Obama said he would have to rely on votes from pro-trade Democrats and Republicans since labor leaders opposed the deal, according to Reuters. Obama did say Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had largely been supportive of the pact. The 12 member-nations reached an agreement last year on the trade deal and signed the pact earlier this month. It still must be ratified by the governments of each member nation. Congress seems likely to delay a vote on the trade deal until after the November elections in the lame duck session, or once a new President takes office next year.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership will tear down trade barriers and help level the playing field for U.S. agricultural exports to 11 nations across the Pacific Rim, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Farm Bureau released an economic analysis Tuesday estimating the trade pact will boost annual net farm income in the United States by $4.4 billion. The report forecasts farm-price increases for corn of five cents per bushel, a 12 cent per bushel increase for soybeans, a two-cent per bushel increase for wheat and a 16 cent per hundredweight increase for rice. Cotton prices are not expected to change. However, cash receipts are projected to rise by $21 million. AFBF also predicts price increases for beef at $2.66 per hundredweight, a $2.45 increase for pork and a $1.45 increase for poultry. Dairy products would also increase; including milk rising 21 cents per hundredweight. The agreement has been approved by negotiators from the 12 TPP nations. The U.S. International Trade Commission is preparing a formal analysis for the administration, which will formally ask Congress to ratify the deal.

Agriculture Technology investments surged to a record in 2015 despite a slumping farm economy. A study released last week shows Investments in agriculture technology startups reached $4.6 billion last year, nearly double the $2.36 billion in 2014. Investments in 2015 were also noticeably less American, as just 58 percent of deals were in U.S.-based companies, versus 90 percent in 2014, according to AgFunder. The group says Drones and robotics investments grew by 237 percent from 2014 as more growers are expected to use crop-scouting drones and various autonomous farm machines for data analysis and precision farming.

A Los Angeles-based advisory group expects more ethanol industry consolidation this year. In a Biofuels International article, Ocean Park Advisors says with dampened expectations for future margins, they expect “any remaining non-strategic players to explore exits.” The report notes that 94 standalone ethanol plants in the United States account for 5.3 billion gallons or 35 percent of domestic production. Further, they predict boards of standalone plants will continue to weigh the benefits and risks of remaining independent in an industry that continues to consolidate. The finance advisory says it tracked ten transactions last year worth an estimated $750 million to $850 million that involved 13 plants with more than 800 million gallons-per-year production capacity.

The Senate Agriculture Committee will markup Chairman Pat Roberts GMO labeling bill Thursday. Roberts released a draft of the bill last week that drew applause from many agriculture groups. However, as Politico reports, it’s unclear if Democrats will be able to ignore pressure from pro-labeling groups unhappy with the measure. The Kansas Senator’s bill serves as an abbreviated seven-page draft compared to the 37-page measure by a Kansas Representative, which passed the House last July by a 275-150 vote. The Senate bill would require USDA to set a voluntary national food labeling standard for genetically engineered foods, preempt state labeling laws on both GMO foods and seed, and require USDA to provide consumers with information on the benefits of biotechnology, according to the draft. Roberts did say he is open to amendments to the bill which he hopes will stop the labeling law in Vermont from going into effect in July of this year.