Farmers cannot afford to spend more on crop insurance.

Michael Swanson, the chief agricultural economist at Wells Fargo, told the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau recently that if federal crop insurance premiums decrease, farmers will reduce their coverage levels. He said farmers currently spend about four percent of their budget on crop insurance premiums, according to the Hagstrom Report. Swanson explained that a typical crop farmer’s spending includes 30 percent of the budget for land rents, 26 percent on manufactured inputs including machinery, 10 percent for seed, 10 percent for farm labor and six percent for crop chemicals. Although farmers complain to bankers about the cost of crop insurance, it is not “mispriced,” Swanson said because the cost has been about the same for the past 15 years.

What economists call the green industry – nursery and greenhouse production, landscape services and horticultural product distribution – is worth an estimated $196 billion in revenues annually. Florida State University said this week the industry also brings more than two million jobs to the United States. The $196 billion estimate for revenue contributions by the industry includes additional impacts through the industry supply chain such as fertilizer and chemical costs. The study compared industry activity in 2013 to previous studies for 2002 and 2007-08. Green industry products include sod, flowers, bedding plants, tropical foliage, trees and shrubs, among other types of plants. The industry also includes many businesses that provide services such as landscape design, installation and maintenance, plus firms — such as lawn and garden stores — for wholesale and retail distribution of horticultural products.

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear the American Farm Bureau Federation’s challenge to the cleanup plan for the Chesapeake Bay in a conference scheduled for Friday. The eight remaining justices will then rule on whether or not to hear the challenge to rules set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Politico reports opponents, including 22 states and 92 members of Congress, to the EPA plan were surely counting on Justice Antonin Scalia’s support in arguing it infringes on states’ rights to determine land use. Scalia died in Texas over the weekend. Meanwhile, next month the court is scheduled to hear arguments to consider hearing a challenge to the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule.

ChemChina’s purchase of Syngenta may bring more widespread acceptance of genetically engineered crops in China. The $43 billion deal brings Syngenta into China, the world’s largest grain producer and a major grower of vegetables, oilseeds, cotton and sugar. Syngenta’s Chief Operating Officer Davor Pisk told Reuters that while cultivation of GM food crops remains illegal in China, there are indications that the government wants to move toward adopting more use of GM technology. However, he adds China must do so in a very cautious way as it recognizes consumer uncertainty and anxiety regarding GM foods. He added “Chinese consumers had been reluctant to accept GM technology as long as it appeared controlled by foreign companies,” suggesting that if a Chinese entity owns the technology, consumers will have more confidence in its safety.

Chinese imports of soybeans dropped sharply last month. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports China imported 5.66 million metric tons of soybeans in January, a 38 percent drop from December and a 17 percent decline from the year prior, according to official customs data. The nation’s soybean buys are expected to decline further during February due to China’s Lunar New Year festivities and shipping delays in Brazil, with some projecting February soybean imports of just four million metric tons. The country’s total exports fell 11.2 percent from the year prior in January, while its imports dropped 18 percent, widening its trade surplus to $63.29 billion versus expectations for a $58.85 billion trade surplus.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas said this week his genetically modified food labeling bill is not ready. Roberts told the Hagstrom Report he hopes his bill will be bipartisan, but he said what he introduces will be “a chairman’s mark” that can be amended. Roberts, along with the committee’s ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow, have been attempting to write bills that would stop state laws from mandating labeling of foods containing GMO ingredients. The first of which is scheduled to take effect in Vermont this July. He added that he thinks action must come quickly because the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and the conflict between Republicans and Democrats over whether a new justice should be brought up for confirmation before the election “will make it tougher and tougher down the road” to pass legislation on a bipartisan basis this year.