Reports from the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago last week noted demand for bank loans, loan extensions, and renewals is surging among U.S. farmers. Agriculture is facing the third consecutive annual drop in farm incomes. Pro Farmers First Thing Today reports access to such credit tightened in the final quarter of 2015 and is expected to continue to be squeezed in 2016. The squeeze comes as the value of farmers’ land slips and their rate of repaying existing loans slows. USDA this month projected a two percent decrease in farm income for 2016 compared to last year. Farm income is down more than 50 percent since hitting a record high in 2013.

More forecasters are expecting La Niña to return to the U.S. later this year. The U.S. government last week joined weather forecasters in predicting the weather event will quickly follow the current El Niño weather pattern later this year. Weather models indicate La Niña conditions, which tend to occur unpredictably every two to seven years, may emerge in the Northern Hemisphere this fall, while El Niño is expected to dissipate during the late spring or early summer, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. Reuters reported the phenomenon can be less damaging than El Niño, but severe La Niñas are linked to floods, droughts and hurricanes. La Niña last appeared from August 2011 to March 2012, hurting corn and soybean crops in Argentina and Brazil and bringing with it the worst drought in a century to Texas.

USDA on Thursday said demand is strong for the Conservation Reserve Program, adding this will be one of the most competitive general sign-up periods in history. That is in part due to a statutory limit on the number of acres that can be enrolled in the program, according to USDA. The sign-up deadline is February 26th. Submissions will be ranked according to environmental benefits in comparison to all other offers nationwide. USDA will announce accepted offers after the enrollment period ends and offers are reviewed. As of January, 23.6 million acres were enrolled in CRP, with contracts for more than 1.6 million acres set to expire this fall. The statutory cap on acres that can be enrolled is 24 million acres.

While China recognizes the need to reduce high guaranteed producer prices for food grains, “the government has not articulated when or how it will do this,” according to a USDA official in China. Therefore, the country is again expected to produce record corn, wheat and rice crops in 2016, adding to the already bulging stocks. Pro Farmers First Thing today reports record crops will artificially suppress imports and push prices higher for meat and dairy. For the 2015-2016 marketing year, USDA expects China to produce a 225 million metric ton corn crop and a 130.1 million metric ton wheat crop. They also expect ending stocks for corn, wheat and rice to hit a combined 258 million metric tons, or roughly half of global reserves.

The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufactures this week filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency challenging the EPA’s biofuels policy. The organization is just the latest of many challenging the EPA. AFPM represents oil companies and said the petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals targets the rulemaking around the Renewable Fuels Standard from 2014 to 2016. Agriculture groups did the same last month, kicking off the widely-expected legal review of the policy, according to Reuters. Just last week, DuPont also filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit. DuPont argues the final volumes jeopardize the company’s cellulosic ethanol investments as the company is in the process of launching commercial cellulosic ethanol production at an Iowa facility.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Associations says the CME Group has not addressed concerns regarding automatic trading in cattle markets. CME Group and NCBA have chartered a working group to address volatility in the cattle market. While CME Group has announced measures aimed at reducing volatility, including reduced trading hours, NCBA’s Collin Woodall says automatic trading needs to be addressed. Given the current system, he says “if the playing field is not leveled between speculators, commercial traders, and producers; then our industry loses a critical marketing tool.” NCBA has asked CME to address specific areas of concern including implementing a delay between trading actions, greater enforcement against market spoofing, monitoring and reporting of market misuse, and the release of audit trail data. Woodall added that “before any other changes are proposed, we expect CME to utilize the working group to address the actions we have already suggested.”

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Warren Preston as USDA’s Deputy Chief Economist, effective February 21st. Preston has served as senior economist for agricultural policy in the Office of the Chief Economist since August of last year, after serving as USDA’s acting Deputy Chief Economist since last February. He joined USDA in 1992. In his role as Deputy Chief Economist for Policy Analysis, Preston advises the Chief Economist, the Secretary, and top policy officials regarding the economic implications of programs, regulations, and legislative proposals affecting the U.S. food and fiber system and rural areas.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told lawmakers Thursday establishing a USDA office in Cuba is his top funding priority. Vilsack testified before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and during his opening statement said “I start off hoping you will take seriously our request to have a physical presence in Cuba.” Vilsack called Cuba a market American agriculture should dominate, according to the Hagstrom Report. Vilsack hinted that USDA personnel on the ground in Cuba could help answer questions regarding U.S. products, potentially boosting sales. Earlier in the week, Vilsack told the Agriculture Coalition for Cuba he is considering whether checkoff funds could be used to open the office. Vilsack noted three other priorities for the appropriations process, being agriculture research, a pathway to allow free and reduced lunch meals through the summer months and fixing the funding issue with fighting forest fires. The hearing was also marked by statements of praise for Vilsack’s performance in office.