China buys more, but will it be enough for ‘phase one’?
The “phase one” trade agreement with China, one of President Trump’s top trade achievements, calls for Beijing to buy huge quantities of U.S. food, agricultural and seafood exports. But an Iowa think tank predicts China will buy only half of the amount needed to satisfy the agreement.
Soybean sprint underway as planting season rolls along
Farmers have planted two-thirds of the soybean crop — more than 54 million acres — a breathtaking change from a year ago when barely more than a quarter of the crop was in the ground by late May due to a persistently rainy spring, said the USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report on Tuesday.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
More meat plants in operation (USDA): Livestock slaughter plants ran at 91 percent of capacity last week, compared to 84 percent in the previous week, said the USDA.
Hard times for hemp (Politico): The bloom of interest in industrial hemp, legalized by the 2018 farm bill, “has quickly turned into a bust” with an oversupply of hemp and no ruling by the FDA over the safety of hemp products.
Stop the waivers (RFA): The pro-ethanol trade group Renewable Fuels Association asked the EPA to deny petitions submitted by oil refiners that ask for waivers that would exempt them from the RFS in past years, arguing the waivers would be illegal.
Charity is not enough (The Hill): Food banks alone cannot resolve hunger in America, so Congress should increase food stamps temporarily by 15 percent, argued Northwestern University professor Diane Schzenbach.
Boom for small beef processors (Business Insider): Consumers and cattle producers are turning to small processors as the link for sales amid slowdowns in slaughter by the major meatpackers.
