Latest News From Jim Wiesemeyer

The WOTUS case, Sackett v. EPA, centers on a long-running dispute involving an Idaho couple named Chantell and Michael Sackett. The Sacketts have won at the Supreme Court before.

If you were confused Friday about the EPA announcement on glyphosate, you were not alone. Bottom line: glyphosate can still be used.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss and President Biden agree a U.S./U.K. trade deal is a low priority. However, the U.K. might lean on the U.S. more in coming weeks as many countries prepare to ban Russian oil.

The details of the tentative agreement reached on Thursday morning have not been shared, and could still be voted down by members who need to ratify the agreement to settle the matter.

Putin said he now wants to renegotiate the U.N.-brokered Ukraine grain export deal, raising concerns the pact may not be able to last. Meanwhile, G7 countries mull over a $44 price cap on Russian oil.

When adjusted for inflation, 2022 net cash farm income is forecast to increase by $13.5 billion (8.7%) from 2021 and be at its highest level since 2012.

University of Missouri, South Dakota University and Iowa Soybean Association were named winners at the Farm Progress show in Boone, Ia. on Tuesday. Vilsack noted requests from over 1,000 applications topped $20 billion.

More than 16% of new cars sold in California in 2022 were zero-emissions vehicles, the state said, up from 12.41% in 2021 and 7.78% in 2020.

Farmers who don’t comply with the recommendations won’t face any consequences, said the spokeswoman for the ag department. They would, however, forgo financial aid and grants the government made available to farmers.

EPA said there was little risk to most people from exposure to dicamba, though it identified six additional instances in which workers handling the herbicide should wear a respirator along with the required outfit.

The CBO says the reconciliation bill, dubbed the "Inflation Reduction Act," cuts the deficit by $102 billion. Senators are pushing for last-minute changes as debate nears, including to electric-vehicle tax-credit limits.

For the first time since the war started, a Ukrainian ship carrying grain left port. The UN says the Razoni was carrying 26,527 MT of corn. The vessel was stuck in port since Feb. 18, before the start of the war.

U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday that grain shipments from Ukraine could resume as soon as today but that details of the exact coordinates of shipping routes were still being finalized.

Sen. Joe Manchin went from being his party’s main holdout on major social policy, climate and tax legislation, to striking a domestic spending package deal that includes climate and energy programs and tax increases. 

USDA raised its consumer food price forecast again, to 8.5% to 9.5% for 2022. The agency had initially predicted a 2% to 3% rise in prices. Eggs, fats and oils, and poultry prices are making the biggest gains.

Five months after the invasion, Senators will receive a classified briefing Wednesday. Russia launched a missile attack on the key grain-exporting port of Odesa Saturday, a day after signing a deal to resume exports.

A day after Ukraine and Russia signed a deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, Russian missiles hit the Odesa port. Ukrainian foreign-ministry accused Vladimir Putin of “spitting in the face” of U.N and Turkey.

The CPI, an inflation gauge measuring what consumers pay for goods and services, rose 1.3% from May to June. Prices were up across the economy, with gasoline far outpacing other categories, up 11.2%.

U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh remained optimistic about contract negotiations between workers and shipping companies for some of the country’s most important ports, even as talks extend past a previous deadline.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced agricultural producers have already received more than $4 billion through the Emergency Relief Program (formerly WHIP+), representing 67% of the $6 billion projected to be paid.

Russian forces targeted at least two large grain terminals Wednesday in the port of Mykolaiv. Western governments claim Russia is carrying out a campaign to degrade Ukraine’s ability to export food.

The move is contingent on legislative action, which would temporarily lift the 18.3 cents tax per gallon on gasoline and 24 cents tax per gallon on diesel during the summer months.

Economists see interest-rate increases raising likelihood of recession to 44% in coming 12 months.

Tensions between Russia and the West are escalating as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would strike new targets if the U.S. supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine, according to Russian state media.

Transforming the U.S. food system by improving supply chains and addressing issues exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic was detailed by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack during a speech at Georgetown University.

Shanghai offered some tax rebates for companies and allowed all manufacturers to resume operations from June as authorities rolled out policies to revitalize an economy impacted by Covid-19 lockdowns.

Fertilizer prices, led by CF Industries, fell in Thursday's trading. Nitrogen prices reportedly plunged 30%, partly due to demand destruction.

The White House is considering waiving U.S. gasoline environmental rules aimed at reducing summertime smog, hoping the waiver will combat rising pump prices, Reuters reported.

U.S. diesel prices are the highest ever, with warnings of shortages, especially in the eastern U.S., and the most intensive part of the farming season is still ahead.

The White House is expected to announce plans to insure double cropping in 681 more counties and doubling the amount of funding for domestic fertilizer production to $500M during a visit to an Illinois farm Wednesday.

Biden administration wants more total planted acres with a focus on soybeans and wheat. That is the clear conclusion from what the administration is proposing as part of its latest wish list for Congress. 

Ukraine has planted 2.5 million hectares of spring-planted crops so far this year, 20% of expected area, according to the Ukrainian ag ministry. The country has warned of a potential decline of 20% in 2022 plantings.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack provided more details regarding the general CRP signup that ended March 11. He said only 1.8 million of the 4 million acres in expiring contracts will be re-enrolled in the program.

A growing number of lawmakers, farm groups and farmers are pleading for assistance from still surging fertilizer prices. One possibility for USDA would be to tap the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act.

President Biden's USDA FY 2023 budget proposal focuses on climate, conservation and research with $3.8 billion discretionary spending increase for USDA with climate, conservation and clean energy the major focal points.

USDA now expects food price inflation in 2022 to be from 4.5% to 5.5%, compared with 2021, based on the all-food Consumer Price Index. No category shows a potential decline.

Congress returns Monday, but to a very different situation due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is expected to be one of the key issues President Biden talks about during his State of the Union address.

Mounting conflict in the breadbasket of Europe is driving volatility in wheat markets as Russia and Ukraine account for 29% of global wheat exports.

On Monday the People’s Bank of China also announced a 0.1 percentage point cut to two of its key policy rates. It acted after GDP grew by more than 8% in 2021, but slowed down in the fourth quarter.

Lawmakers may have left town, but centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) left no doubt that he cannot support President Biden’s $1.75 trillion social and climate spending plan, imperiling the president’s agenda.

Senate leadership’s timeline for the BBB proposal is just before Christmas, according to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin is calling for a strategic pause for the vote, delaying it into 2022.

Union: New offer has modest modifications to offer voted down Nov. 2; Vote Wed.

Net cash farm income, which tracks producers’ cash flow, is forecast by USDA at $134.7B for 2021. That number is up $6.4B from February’s forecast and would be an increase of 21.5% from 2020's $110.9B.

Secretary Vilsack flatly denied there is any effort by President Biden to reduce meat consumption to meet proposed cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. "Sometimes in the political world, games get played," he said.

Chief U.S. Ag Negotiator Gregg Doud gives a details look at the ongoing implementation of the Phase One trade deal with China.

Pro Farmer Policy Analyst Jim Wiesemeyer give analysis for each individual ag commodity impacted by the phase 1 trade deal with China.

U.S. agriculture exports in September totaled $10.30 billion against imports of $10.08 billion for a monthly surplus of $219.8 million.

No funding for border wall, but lawmakers will discuss border security in weeks ahead