AG NEWS

• Almond Prices at a Decade Low
• 3 Big Things Today, August 28, 2020
• Ag Trade: USDA Forecasts U.S. Exports Up $5.5 Billion for 2021
• Second Round of Ag Aid Could Come Soon | Additional $14 Billion From Commodity Credit Corp.
• 7 ag stories you might have missed this week – Aug. 28, 2020
• Soybean growers have a new seed option available for the 2021 growing season
• Former Ag secretary breaks with GOP, endorses Biden
• DTN Livestock Closing: Cattle Contracts Lose Ground
• Agencies Want Navigable Waters Lawsuit Dismissed – DTN
• Bayer’s Roundup Settlement Talks Hit New Setback
• USDA/EPA Announce Next Generation Fertilizer Challenges
• ADM Identifies Six Ways Food & Beverage Innovation Is Evolving In The Face Of COVID-19
• Second round of CFAP could come after Labor Day
• USDA tightens eligibility rules for farm subsidies
• Ag Interest Rate Snapshot
• Great Inflation Debate Heats Up
• The coming battle over cell-based ‘meat’
• Black farmers seek ban or product warnings for Roundup weedkiller
• USDA Agricultural Trade Outlook- FY 2021 U.S. Agricultural Exports Forecast Up $5.5 Billion
• USDA predicts stronger US ag exports in FY 2021
• U.S. Could Decouple From China, Trump says
• Farmers, Ethanol Producers File Court Brief Defending Year-Round E15
• Federal government is studying air emissions from livestock – again
• Farm Succession: Legacy Assumptions, Management Decisions
• Todd’s Take | What Is Happening in China?
• Rural Mainstreet Index Inches Up In August

USDA collected comments and supporting data for consideration of additional commodities through June 22, 2020. The following additional commodities are now eligible for CFAP:

• Specialty Crops – aloe leaves, bananas, batatas, bok choy, carambola (star fruit), cherimoya, chervil (french parsley), citron, curry leaves, daikon, dates, dill, donqua (winter melon), dragon fruit (red pitaya), endive, escarole, filberts, frisee, horseradish, kohlrabi, kumquats, leeks, mamey sapote, maple sap (for maple syrup), mesculin mix, microgreens, nectarines, parsley, persimmons, plantains, pomegranates, pummelos, pumpkins, rutabagas, shallots, tangelos, turnips/celeriac, turmeric, upland/winter cress, water cress, yautia/malanga, and yuca/cassava.
• Non-Specialty Crops and Livestock – liquid eggs, frozen eggs and all sheep. Only lambs and yearlings (sheep less than two years old) were previously eligible.
• Aquaculture – catfish, crawfish, largemouth bass and carp sold live as foodfish, hybrid striped bass, red drum, salmon, sturgeon, tilapia, trout, ornamental/tropical fish, and recreational sportfish.
• Nursery Crops and Flowers – nursery crops and cut flowers.

Other changes to CFAP include:

• Seven commodities – onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts and watermelons – are now eligible for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act funding for sales losses. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for payments on marketing adjustments.
• Correcting payment rates for onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts, and watermelons.

Read complete press release.

• Wonderful Pistachios fears industry ‘fragmentation’
• Colony collapse toll is highest in four years for U.S. honeybees
• Pistachio industry anticipates record crop
• Is this the best year ever for almonds?
• USDA, industry mull pecan marketing order
• 3 Big Things Today, August 7, 2020
• New USDA numbers show US ag exports to China lagging
• Farm Bureau economist explains stand-out numbers in CFAP data
• USDA Offers Loan Deferrals for Farm Storage Facilities
• China, U.S. to Review Trade Deal, Air Other Grievances Aug 15 -Sources
• 4 Options for a Farm Operation Without a Successor
• Biden says he would remove tariffs on China
• Ethanol Awaits Fate on Waivers, Aid RFA’s Cooper: EPA Decision to Issue Waivers Would Equate to ‘Locking in Blend Wall’
• 7 ag stories you might have missed this week – Aug. 7, 2020
• Trump Bans Dealings With Chinese Owners of TikTok, WeChat
• U.S. farm state senators in a beef over livestock bill
• USDA proposes rule to strengthen enforcement of organic standards
• Could China’s Massive Rainstorms Be A “Black Swan” for Markets?
• Analyst Digs Through Data to Find Historical August Lows
• USDA extends deadlines, defers interest accrual due to COVID-19
• Peterson working to make sure HEROES Act ag provisions make it in final bill
• AFBF: Mixed News on Farm Bankruptcies Amid Pandemic
• COVID-19 Weighs on Ag Economy | Reports Outline Series of Economic Struggles Continue in Agriculture
• Big crops are getting bigger, analyst says
• Sweeping U.S. pesticide reform bill introduced, banning some chemical agents
• Perdue says EU’s Farm to Fork strategy leaves farmers behind
• Censky: China needs to buy more US ag goods
• Department of Energy Finishes Recommendation on Retroactive RFS Exemption Requests
• China, U.S. to Review Trade Deal, Air Other Grievances Aug 15 -Sources
• Farm, nutrition provisions remain in play as talks on aid bill drag
• USDA prepared to roll over unused CFAP
• USDA Identifies Mystery Seeds
• Farmland Ownership Passing into the Hands of Big Investors

USDA Extends Deadlines, Defers Interest Accrual Due to COVID-19

WASHINGTON, August 5, 2020 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced it will authorize Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) to extend deadlines for premium and administrative fee payments, defer the resulting interest accrual and allow other flexibilities to help farmers, ranchers, and insurance providers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading.

• Markie Hageman is New Co-Owner of CaliforniaAgToday.com
• California Almonds: Regulated Deficit Irrigation – Is It Appropriate for Your Operation?
• Study Shows Pistachios May Be Helpful in Weight Loss Plan
• UC Riverside Research Team Fuels the Hemp Revolution
• California Prune Growers Suffer the Brunt
• Diamond of California® Debuts Their First-Ever Snack Walnuts Line
• View From the Cab The Search for Farm-Life Balance
• Ag Sec’y Perdue Critical Of EU’s Plan To Cut Use Of Crop Inputs
• Weekly Export Sales – New crop soybean sales soar
• Cattle futures look for price direction
• U.S. sells record amount of corn to China as tensions rise
• Pace of coronavirus payments to farmers slows, reasons unclear
• NCBA passes policy to increase cash trade levels
• Senate Releases Draft COVID Relief Measure (HEALS Act), a Follow-Up to CARES Act, but Different From House Passed HEROES Act
• The Beginning of the End to the China Deal
• Drought Monitor Weekly: Very Hot, Mostly Dry
• Peanut Usage Still Up But Sees a Slide
• Farm Progress Commentary | Why am I a farmer? To pass on my knowledge and passion
• Investment In AgTech On Pace To Set Record For The Sector
• Soil Health Institute Begins To Identify True Cost: Benefits Of Soil Health
• Lely Develops Robot To Mow, Feed Hay

• The 2020 Almond Crop Set to Be 3 Billion Meat Pounds
• Blueberry Harvest Wraps Up
• Tomato Harvest To Start Soon
• Report: Grapes will weather COVID-19 storm
• Farm Groups File Appeal Challenging California’s Prop 12
• Report: California groundwater sustainability plans are inadequate
• Webinar to examine climate’s impact on specialty crops
• Cattle and swine producers get insurance subsidies
• Senate GOP’s $1T aid plan authorizes expanded ag assistance
• Senate to Match House on Size of Ag Coronavirus Aid Package
• Here’s how grain prices could strengthen in 2021
• China’s H1 grain imports spike, on path to use up annual quotas
• Majority say masks have COVID response role
• Why COVID-19 Relief Should Include America’s Agricultural Fairs
• Midweek Markets: China, China, China
• Boston Market Sues Chicken Companies for Millions in Broiler Overcharges
• U.S.-China tensions ratchet higher, but analyst expects ag purchases to continue
• EIA: US Propane and Propylene Stocks Up
• Appeals court slashes award in Roundup case
• U.S. court allows sales of Corteva weed killer, adding to edge over Bayer
• New Program Pays Farmers For Carbon Sequestration
• Ag Taxes: Limits on Deducting Farm Losses
• The US Safety Net, Crop Profitability, and a Floor on Cost of Production
• Cash Market Moves | The White Combine: A Farmer’s Worst Nightmare
• Artificial intelligence spurs real-time scouting, say Taranis officials
• Farm Progress launches virtual show
• Bayer mostly loses appeal in Johnson Roundup case
• Bayer appeal denied but damages reduced
• Science Magazine Study on Illegal Deforestation Causes a Strong Reaction From the Brazilian Government
• Farm State Lawmakers: Ethanol a Priority in Senate COVID Relief Package
• R-CALF: 40% Cash Volume More Depressing Than $33/Head
• USDA Releases “Feed Outlook” Report (PDF)