The Department of Agriculture’s inspector general will investigate the proposed movement of two USDA agencies outside of the Washington, DC area. Politico reports the investigation will look into whether USDA followed proper procedures when deciding to move the agencies. Earlier this year, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a plan that would move the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture outside of Washington. The investigation will also look to see if USDA has the authority to make the moves. The investigation could also trigger further efforts by Congress to block or restrict the USDA’s decision. The USDA was planning to relocate the agencies next year, but many in Congress, along with others including USDA employees, have criticized the move and the massive costs associated with it. Perdue says the move would save the agency money.

China dropped imports of U.S. soybeans by 80 percent in September and increased Brazilian imports by 28 percent. Reuters reports this is the first time that China has provided data on the country of origin for its commodity imports since the month of March. China, which typically buys many of its soybeans during the fourth quarter from the U.S., is sourcing soybeans from Brazil as a direct result of the trade war with the United States. Chinese buyers imported 7.59 million metric tons of Brazilian soybeans in September, up from 5.94 million metric tons a year ago. Soybean imports from the U.S. were 132,200 metric tons, compared with 937,000 in September last year. China implemented a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans in July as part of the tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries. Corn and sorghum shipments from the U.S. were reported significantly lower, as well.

The Hagstrom Report says California Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris are asking Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to give extra compensation to farmers who’ve been hurt by trade disputes. The legislators are citing a USDA study that estimates 2018 farm income will drop by $9.8 billion from 2017 income levels. The senators wrote a letter to the Secretary, saying that, “California relies on export markets for many agricultural goods, including many specialty crops that are grown almost exclusively in our state. These same goods now face steep tariffs, and farmers are experiencing severe losses.” They say this is happening not only in CA but other states around the country and USDA assistance to farmers doesn’t make up for the drastic losses farmers face due to retaliatory tariffs imposed by some of America’s most important trading partners, including China, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union. As a more specific example, they also cite a University of California-Davis study that says the total losses for pistachio farmers due to trade actions will total $384 million. However, USDA has only announced $85.2 million in pistachio purchases as part of their trade assistance program to help farmers.

Penn State University conducted a recent study on the safety of food purchased at farmers markets in the state. The trade publication Food Safety News reports that researchers found evidence of food safety problems over the course of the five-year study. The Penn State report on the findings says, “Researchers checked select samples of leafy green produce and meat obtained from farmers markets in Pennsylvania for the presence of hygiene indicators, such as coliforms, fecal coliforms, Listeria, and E Coli. What they found was cause for concern.” The study reported that E Coli was present in 40 percent of beef tested, 18 percent of pork, 28 percent of kale, 29 percent of lettuce, and 17 percent of spinach. The study also found that vendors at farmers markets were found to demonstrate insufficient or high-risk behaviors in areas like hand washing, personal hygiene, and cross-contamination.

Trade issues have led to an increasing supply of beef and pork, which in turn is pressuring poultry sales. The extra beef and pork means retailers are featuring those products more than poultry, luring consumers away from chicken purchases. Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Bill Lovette says the chicken processor posted a sharp drop in third-quarter earnings. The drop was attributed to a “very challenging U.S. pricing environment.” Lovette expects the trade pressure to drop significantly in 2019 as potential new agreements and trading partners help reduce the extra supply of beef and pork on hand. The African Swine Fever outbreak in different parts of the world might actually boost overseas demand for U.S. pork, which should also help clean out the extra supply. U.S. chicken prices have remained attractive, helping to boost demand internationally. In terms of supplies, chicken has been growing at a pace similar to 2017. The industry website Meating Place Dot Com says U.S. beef supplies are expected to shrink in 2019, and chicken promotions are expected to pick up at the start of 2019. Earlier this year, Pilgrim’s moved one of its large-bird deboning plants to no-antibiotics-ever and vegetarian-fed to help offset commodity market weakness.

Bayer says that it’s focused on defending Monsanto weed-killers containing glyphosate from lawsuits over claims that the products cause cancer. However, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann says they might settle those cases if the court costs become too high. Earlier this year, Bayer acquired Monsanto for $63 billion. “If we can settle nuisances at some point where the defense costs become significantly higher than potential settlement amounts, we will of course consider it from an economic standpoint,” says Baumann. A Reuters report says that was his response to questions on whether or not Bayer might consider settling in certain scenarios. He did add that, “We will resolutely and with all means defend ourselves against this glyphosate litigation.” Back on August 10th, a San Francisco jury awarded $289 million to Dewayne Johnson on grounds that Monsanto had failed to warn the groundskeeper and other customers about the potential cancer risks of Roundup and Ranger Pro. Since then, shares in Monsanto have dropped 25 percent of their value. A judge later reduced the award to $78 million. Johnson has terminal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that he alleges was caused by repeated use of the Roundup herbicide.