Union Pacific said on Tuesday it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal to create the first U.S. coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the country.
Regulations
California’s Prop 12 Increased Pork Prices, USDA Data Says
Republicans continued on Wednesday a years-long effort to override a 2018 California law that bans the sale in the state of pork from pigs kept in tightly confined spaces, arguing in a House Agriculture Committee hearing that the law is overly burdensome to farmers.
Trump Admin Touts Farm Conservation, Says No Pesticide Crackdown
The loss of topsoil on American farms is threatening the country’s food supply and demands a new commitment to conservation, Trump administration officials said Tuesday. They also say the White House has no plans to crack down on pesticides in farming.
US Pauses Restart of Mexican Cattle Imports due to Screwworm
The Agriculture Department said Wednesday evening that the U.S. would be closing the southern border to livestock trade, effective immediately, after reports that New World screwworm has resumed its northward spread.
Bunge Completes $8 Billion Merger with Grain Trader Viterra
Bunge Global SA completed its takeover of Glencore Plc-backed Viterra, a move that will help the combined businesses better compete with larger rivals like Cargill Inc. and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. as the crop-trading sector faces a downturn in profits.
US Reopening Phased Mexican Cattle Imports After Screwworm Closure
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Monday a phased reopening of cattle, bison and equine imports from Mexico following a prolonged closure over the damaging pest New World screwworm.
SCOTUS Rejects Prop 12 Case, Seeks Government View on Roundup
The US Supreme Court signaled interest in Bayer AG’s bid to stop thousands of lawsuits blaming its top-selling Roundup weedkiller for causing cancer, seeking the Trump administration’s view on whether to hear the company’s appeal of a $1.25 million verdict.
Trump Again Considering Immigration Relief for Farmworkers
President Donald Trump again is saying he wants to shield farmers from the effects of his crackdown on illegal immigration, just days after his administration reinstated workplace raids on agricultural operations.
New USDA Sterile Fly Facility Will Combat Screwworm
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans on Wednesday to open a sterile fly dispersal facility in Hidalgo County, Texas, as part of the country’s effort to fight the encroachment of New World screwworm.
ICE Reverses Exemption of Ag from Immigration Raids
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday told staff that it was reversing guidance issued last week that agents were not to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels and restaurants.
ICE Ordered to Pause Immigration Raids on Ag Businesses
President Donald Trump’s administration has directed immigration officials to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, restaurants and meatpacking plants, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters, a senior Trump official, and a person familiar with the matter.
EPA Likely to Propose RFS Volumes Below Industry Expectations
The EPA will propose new biofuel blending requirements for oil refiners for the coming two years that will likely include a lower biomass-based diesel mandate than industry groups had requested, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
Immigration Raids Targeting Ag Businesses Increase
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are starting to more aggressively target agriculture and food processing facilities around the country as reports over the past week from (Nebraska), New Mexico and California also highlight.
Chinese Nationals Arrested for Smuggling Crop Pathogen Into US
Two Chinese nationals were arrested for allegedly smuggling a pathogen into the U.S. that is known to be destructive to corn, wheat, rice and barley crops.
FSA to Require DOGE Approval for Larger Loans
Reuters’ Leah Douglas and P.J. Huffstutter reported that “farm loan employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency will now need approval from billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to issue loans over $500,000, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.” “The April 29 memo sent by Houston Bruck, deputy […]
US Imposes Slightly Eased Port Fees on Chinese Ships
Agri-Pulse’s Oliver Ward reported this past week that “starting in October, the U.S. will impose port fees on Chinese-made ships and Chinese operators based on cargo volumes, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Thursday. But ag exporters will see some relief as the measures will not apply to ships that arrive empty […]
Bayer CEO Warns that Company May Stop Making Roundup
The Wall Street Journal’s Patrick Thomas reported that “Roundup’s time may be up. Pharmaceutical and agriculture conglomerate Bayer said it could stop producing the world’s most popular weedkiller, unless it gets court protection against lawsuits blaming the herbicide for causing cancer.” “Roundup has generated tens of billions of dollars in sales over time for Bayer […]
Proposed US Port Fees on China Ships Already Hitting Ag Exports
Reuters Lisa Baertlein, Karl Plume and Timothy Gardner reported Wednesday that “President Donald Trump’s plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding using massive fees on China-linked ship visits to American ports is causing U.S. coal inventories to swell and stoking uncertainty in the embattled agriculture market, as exporters struggle to find ships to send goods abroad.” “Trump […]
Trump EPA to Again Rewrite WOTUS Rule
Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “for the fourth time in the past decade, the Environmental Protection Agency will write a new rule for regulating waters of the United States, one that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said will closely align with a Supreme Court decision and alleviate regulatory risks for farmers.” “Zeldin on Wednesday announced […]
EU Exploring Import Restrictions That Could Include US Soy
The Financial TImes’ Andy Bounds reported this past Sunday that “the EU wants to block imports of certain foodstuffs made to different standards to protect its farmers in an echo of US President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ trade policy.” “The European Commission will agree (this) week to explore greater import limits, according to three officials, a […]