Trump tariff payments flow to cities as well as rural mailboxes
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More than 1,100 of the early recipients of Trump tariff payments intended to offset the impact of the trade war on U.S. agriculture actually live in America’s largest cities, said the Environmental Working Group on Monday. The bailout recipients are the latest “city slickers” identified by the EWG for collecting federal subsidies without living or working on a farm.
Silence inside farm bill negotiations, while outsiders call for reform
Working under the gun, Senate and House negotiators are exchanging proposals to resolve intractable disputes over the 2018 farm bill, with the hope of agreement as early as today. While the “four corners,” as the four lead negotiators are known, are working in private, there are last-minute calls from outside for reform.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
What loyalty oath? (iPolitics): Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay says his country can negotiate a trade agreement with China if it wishes, despite a provision in the “new NAFTA” that says members will not write free trade agreements with a “non-market economy,” interpreted to mean China.
Shrimping shutdown (AP): After hearing a dismal report on the outlook for the shrimp population in the Gulf of Maine, regulators voted to close the winter shrimping season for three years, through 2021.
Pricing prospects (farmdoc Daily): U.S. soybean prices — and exports — are in the doldrums due to the trade war, but the sporadic price rallies associated with rumors of progress in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations may offer “decent windows for pricing,” says economist Todd Hubbs of the University of Illinois.
Food labels and oleic acid (FDA): Food makers can put a qualified health claim on their packages that says there is supportive but not conclusive evidence that high-oleic oils, such as high-oleic sunflower, safflower, canola, olive, and algal oils, may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Threat to RFS dwindles (DTN/Progressive Farmer): Reform of the Renewable Fuel Standard doesn’t appear to be a priority for the next session of Congress, says a spokesman for the oil industry, a perennial opponent of biofuel mandates.
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