Kip Tom, who leads President-elect Donald Trump’s ag coalition, says he expects the transition team to move much more quickly to fill cabinet positions. Whether Tom is going to be in it, perhaps as agriculture secretary, remains to be seen. He served as U.S. ambassador to the UN agriculture and food programs during the first Trump administration.
“I'm a farmer, and I continue to do what I do for the farmers and ranchers coalition and try to make sure we advance what we can of the Trump agenda and make sure that the new administration knows what's going on in agriculture to make sure our voice is there,” Tom tells Agri-Pulse.
Tom knows well that many farm groups are nervous about the president-elect’s threats to impose across-the-board tariffs and start mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
Tom says farmers shouldn’t “jump to conclusions” about how Trump will implement his trade policy. “Trump likes to deal. I’m convinced he’ll negotiate and negotiate well,” Tom says.
As for the role of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the administration, Tom says, “I don’t think President Trump is going to do anything that’s going to rock the boat on the ag economy.”
By the way: Former Ag Secretary Mike Johanns says he hopes Trump’s tariff threat is a negotiating tool.
“When we put tariffs on things there’s going to be retaliation, I just don’t think there’s much doubt about that. … My hope is that he’s negotiating,” Johanns says on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
Another former ag secretary, Dan Glickman, also talks about the election results on this week’s Newsmakers. Glickman says fellow Democrats should “lay back on the cultural issues” going forward. “I would not have made abortion the only issue you talked about.”
This week’s Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
The fate of biofuel credits in the second Trump administration
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to rescind parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides billions for various climate policies and tax incentives for clean energy industries like biofuels.
Despite this pledge, tax policy experts and biofuel groups are hopeful some elements of the IRA will be preserved, like the upcoming 45Z credit for biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel. They cite a recent letter from House Republicans calling for parts of the law to stay in place, as well as remarks by House Speaker Mike Johnson calling for a “scalpel and not a sledgehammer” approach to the IRA as promising signs.
Ultimately, trade associations and industry groups should plan on making their case for preserving these credits on Capitol Hill and to the new administration, said Tim Urban, who oversees tax policy at Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group.
“I'm still optimistic that much, if not all, the IRA may be salvageable, but I think there's a lot of work to be done,” said Urban.
Read more in our story here.
Thune to Trump: Stay out of Senate leadership race
Senate GOP Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told CNBC Thursday that he would prefer that Trump not endorse anyone for Senate majority leader.
Thune, who currently serves as Senate minority whip, is considered a front-runner for the leadership post. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced earlier this year that he would leave the top Republican spot after the elections. That decision triggered a three-way race between Thune, John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott from Florida.
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Scott unsuccessfully challenged McConnell at the beginning of the last Congress and received just 10 votes. Since Trump won the presidency, however, the Florida Republican and his allies have pushed the former president to back him in the election.
Thune said Trump could exert “a considerable amount of influence” on the party leadership vote but that it’s “probably in his best interest to stay out” of the race.
“These Senate secret ballot elections are probably best left to senators, and he’s got to work with all of us when it’s all said and done,” Thune continued. “But whatever he decides to do, that’s going to be his prerogative.”
What’s next? Congress will reconvene after the election on Tuesday. The majority leader election is scheduled for Wednesday.
Take note: Republicans have claimed a 53rd seat. The Associated Press on Thursday declared that Republican Dave McCormick had defeated incumbent Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania.
Lower sales, earnings for Corteva, Nutrien in Q3
Corteva reported lower sales and earnings per share in its third quarter from the same period last year, citing reduced corn acres in Latin America and bad weather in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Earnings for the quarter fell from $1.1 billion to $811 million.
The seed and chemical company downgraded slightly its full-year 2024 guidance for net sales to a range of $17 to $17.2 billion. Sales for 2025 are expected to be in the range of $17.3 to $17.7 billion.
Fertilizer giant Nutrien also reported financial results for the quarter. The company said net earnings were $25 million, or 4 cents per share, about 70% below the year-ago period.
However, “fertilizer demand in North America for the fall application season has been supported by a relatively early harvest and the need to replenish soil nutrients, following a period of lower field activity in the third quarter,” the company said in its market outlook.
Rains bring Miss. River needed boo
Rains seen in parts of the Mississippi River valley ranged from “pretty impressive” to “locally excessive,” providing a boost to previously low Mississippi River water levels, says USDA meteorologist Brady Rippey.
Rippey says some parts of Missouri and Arkansas are believed to have received more than 10 inches of rain this week, with another one to two inches expected over the weekend. The Mississippi River stage in St. Louis topped 14 feet on Wednesday, nearly 17 feet higher than the mid-October minimum, he adds.
Flooding has even occurred along the Merman River, a Mississippi River tributary in east-central Missouri, Rippey says.
Final word: “Turnout has always been good in rural America. People take their right to vote very, very seriously, but I think he just boosted the numbers. He pretty much outperformed all across the country from past election cycles for Republicans.” — Mike Johanns, a former Nebraska governor, senator and U.S. Agriculture Secretary, on Trump’s win during Tuesday’s election.
Correction: The Nov. 7 Daybreak misidentified Ethan Lane. He is the Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
