Depressed commodity prices, poor weather, and trade war ramifications aren’t just worrying for the nation’s farmers. The second quarter Agriculture Credit Conditions Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis says ag bankers are worried as well. The report, which covers April through June, says farm income, spending on capital equipment, and household purchases all decreased. Nearly half of the lenders located within the Fed district, which stretches from Wisconsin through Montana, reported a decrease in farm income. Only eight percent reported an increase in farm income. Wisconsin, one of the nation’s most prominent dairy states, has the highest number of lenders reporting falling incomes, coming in at 71 percent. Lower incomes did slightly hurt the rate of loan repayments. Survey respondents also said cropland values increased somewhat. About half of the survey respondents are also predicting that conditions will worsen further by the time the third quarter of 2018 rolls around.

It’s taken months of divesting, negotiating, and waiting, but Bayer and Monsanto will complete their merger. An Ag Web Dot Com article notes German-based Bayer can now officially begin integrating Monsanto after Bayer divested itself of certain Crop Science businesses in a sale to BASF. The name Monsanto is expected to officially disappear in the future. However, familiar brand names like Dekalb, Asgrow, and Channel are expected to remain after the merger is complete. Bayer became Monsanto’s sole shareholder back in June, but the merger couldn’t officially take place until Bayer completed the sale of certain assets to BASF. Some of the divestments included Bayer’s field crops business, vegetable seed business, a digital platform, and other assets. The U.S. Justice Department required the divestments be completed before the merger was allowed to officially begin. Prior to completing the sale of assets to BASF, Bayer didn’t have access to Monsanto’s information. The company says with the integration, it “gains the ability to become actively involved in defense efforts at glyphosate trials and any other legal disputes, such as potential claims for damages in connection with dicamba.”

A district court judge in South Carolina overturned the Trump Administration’s attempt to delay implementation of the “Waters of the U.S. Rule,” or WOTUS. The Hill Dot Com says the Obama-era rule is immediately law in 26 states as the judge’s ruling put an exemption on the administration’s suspension rule. The U.S. District Court in South Carolina decided the Environmental Protection Agency did not follow rule-making procedures in suspending WOTUS implementation. The judge says EPA did not give an adequate public notice and comment period as stipulated by the Administrative Procedures Act. The court wrote in its decision that, “As administrations change, so do their priorities. But the requirements of the APA remain the same. The Court finds that the government failed to comply with these requirements in implementing the suspension rule.” A federal judge had previously granted the other 24 states the ability to get out of WOTUS regulations. Environmental groups like the Sierra Club hailed the decision as a victory for communities across the country. The EPA says it will look at the order before determining its next steps.

A coalition of animal agriculture stakeholders is seeking permanent funding for disease preparedness programs in the farm bill. In a letter to the farm bill conferee members, who will be ironing out differences between the House and Senate bills, the group specifically seeks permanent full funding for the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program. The groups say permanent funding is “critical “ as an outbreak of a foreign animal disease, such as Foot and Mouth Disease or Avian Influenza, “has the ability to cripple the entire agricultural sector and create long-lasting ramifications.” The letter says recent studies indicate that the cumulative 10-year loss due to an uncontrolled FMD outbreak would be $199.8 billion. The coalition includes more than 100 state and national livestock, veterinary and animal health organizations.

The North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation effort passed the one-year anniversary this week. A year ago Thursday, the U.S., Canada and Mexico convened for the start of the renegotiation talks. Now, the U.S. could be nearing a deal on NAFTA, at least with Mexico. Politico reports the political situation in both countries is such that each is more eager than ever to make a deal, setting up a scenario in which significant progress could be on the near horizon. Plus, the incremental progress, along with “good faith negotiations” between Mexico and the U.S. are offering signs of hope to U.S. farmers and business in the global trade arena. Mexico says the list of items to resolve is “no longer a question of chapters, it’s now a question of paragraphs and points.” Meetings were scheduled to continue through the end of this week in Washington as negotiators seek an agreement, before moving on to striking a deal with Canada.

A Chinese delegation will travel to the U.S. as part of the ongoing trade war as both sides “remain far apart.” China said Thursday the delegation will meet with U.S. Treasury Undersecretary David Malpass to discuss trade issues. However, the South China Morning Post reports observers say the talks are unlikely to yield any breakthrough, but could lead to further negotiations aimed at de-escalating the trade war. Malpass has no authority to negotiate with China on trade, but can set up the basic protocol for a possible future round of talks. The U.S. is due to issue tariffs on another $16 billion worth of Chinese goods in the next week, with China again vowing to retaliate against the U.S. tariffs. The visit between China and the U.S. is mainly viewed as a means to check and see if future dialogue between the two nations is possible.

(USDA) Agricultural producers in Missouri who suffered losses and damages due to recent drought on two separate occasions may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency emergency loans. For the recent drought, the Secretary has designated Andrew, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Mercer, Nodaway, Randolph, Ray, Saline and Sullivan counties in Missouri as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in the contiguous counties of Adair, Atchison, Audrain, Boone, Buchanan, Clay, Cooper, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Knox, Lafayette, Monroe, Pettis, Platte, Putnam,
Shelby and Worth in Missouri, along with Decatur, Page, Ringgold, Taylor and Wayne counties in Iowa, and Doniphan County in Kansas, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans. For the second recent drought, the Secretary has designated Adair, Buchanan, Howard,
Putnam, Schuyler and Scotland counties in Missouri as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in the contiguous counties of Andrew, Boone, Chariton, Clark, Clinton, Cooper, DeKalb, Knox, Linn, Macon, Mercer, Platte, Randolph, Saline and Sullivan in Missouri, along with Appanoose, Davis, Van Buren and Wayne counties in Iowa, and Atchison and Doniphan counties in Kansas, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.
Producers in all designated primary and contiguous counties will have until April 1, 2019, to apply for emergency loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. Additional information is also available online at https://www.farmers.gov/recover.

The Food and Drug Administration announced this week it would extend its deadlines and inspection timeframes for when certain-sized facilities should come into compliance with some Food Safety Modernization Act. The move, applauded by the American Feed Industry Association, gives the FDA more time to release the final FSMA guidance documents and train its inspectors. AFIA says the deadline extensions give the regulated animal food industry “greater opportunity to perform the necessary retrofits to animal food safety plans and processes to ensure full compliance with federal regulations.” Small-sized animal food facilities, firms with less than 500 employees will need to come into compliance with the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls regulations by September 17, with the FDA delaying inspections until the fall of 2019. Initially, inspections were set to begin in January 2019. The FDA intends to delay compliance for very small businesses, those with sales totaling less than $2.5 million, from the requirements applicable to qualified facilities until the fall of 2020.