House Republicans embrace ‘pretty radical’ farm bill ideas — Vilsack
Most of the Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee — 21 of 29 — support “pretty radical” farm bill proposals at a time when only a bipartisan bill is sure of enactment, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. “It just underscores the difficulty of getting to a farm bill” when control of Congress is almost evenly divided, he said.
India uses wheat stockpile to fight inflation
India is drawing down its government-held wheat reserves more rapidly than expected as it tries to control inflation, said the monthly Wheat Outlook on Monday. USDA analysts lowered by 2.1 million metric tons their estimate of India’s wheat supply at the end of this marketing year.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
‘Stay tuned’ for E15: EPA agriculture adviser Rod Snyder told reporters to “stay tuned” when asked whether an EPA announcement allowing summertime sale of E15 was imminent. (North American Agricultural Journalists)
Launch specialty crop caucus: Four U.S. representatives — Democrats Jim Costa of California and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Republicans David Rouzer of North Carolina and David Valadao of California — announced the formation of the Congressional Specialty Crops Caucus. (Slotkin)
Mexico buys U.S. corn: Despite the ongoing U.S.-Mexico dispute over genetically modified corn, private exporters told the USDA they sold 165,000 metric tons of U.S. corn for delivery to Mexico — all but 30,000 tons of it for delivery in the marketing year that ends on Aug. 31. (USDA)
Honig named ASB chair: Lance Honig, who has held the job on a temporary basis since last November, was appointed chair of the Agricultural Statistics Board, a key post in the USDA’s system of market-sensitive agricultural estimates and forecasts. (USDA)
Soy planting 3 percent complete: In its first report of the year on soybeans, the weekly Crop Progress report said 3 percent of the crop has been planted, ahead of the five-year average of 1 percent. (USDA)
