Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is making some bold promises that rural America will boom again as the result of President Donald Trump’s policies.
Speaking at Commodity Classic in Denver on Sunday, Rollins pledged to work with farmers to bring in a “new era of prosperity that … perhaps we've not seen in our lifetime.” At another point, she said, “We will usher in a new era of prosperity and opportunity, innovation and revitalization in rural America.”
She repeatedly stressed that the department was rooting out any vestiges of diversity, equity and inclusion policies and said she was working with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to “unleash prosperity in rural America through a massive deregulation project.”
Take note: She also announced that the upcoming $10 billion in market relief payments for row crop producers would be known as ECAP, for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program.
By the way: About 10,700 people had registered for Commodity Classic as of Sunday. Classic is the annual meeting of grain and soybean producers and equipment manufacturers.
Read our full report on Rollins’ appearance at the meeting.
Corn, soybean growers debate policies
Trade and biofuels were among the issues debated at grower delegate sessions at Commodity Classic.
Delegates to the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Congress adopted a resolution to ask USDA to form an office with the Treasury Department to help develop guidance for the new 45Z tax credit, which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act. The idea is that the office would operate like EPA’s ag office, which was formally created a year ago by the Biden administration.
Corn Congress will continue on Tuesday.
American Soybean Association delegates adopted a resolution to stress the importance of providing assistance to growers during times of market volatility. The rationale explicitly mentioned the "potential for trade wars."
The ASA delegates also adopted a new resolution supporting the development of federal definitions and testing standards for imported used cooking oil to improve oversight efforts.
By the way: Trump’s tariff threats are hanging over Classic this year. “I know the tariffs that we’re hearing about give a lot of people heartburn due to the potential retaliation that we could face on our products,” Ryan LeGrand, president and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council, told the Corn Congress delegates.
LeGrand expressed concern that ethanol could be a target for retaliatory tariffs by the European Union.
Johnson, Dems trade blame for spending impasse
President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind passing another CR that would fund the government to the end of fiscal 2025 on Sept. 30. Republicans also want to put into law the spending reductions that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative has been making by canceling government contracts and programs.
A possible government shutdown is less than two weeks away, when funding is set to run out. President Trump wants to pass another continuing resolution that would fund the government until Sept. 30. But Republicans and Democrats remain at an impasse over the issue.
State of play: The House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press alleged that "Democrats have shown no interest in finding a reasonable solution" to the funding impasse.
But Democrats are demanding assurances that Trump commit to honoring the funding levels in a new CR, which can’t pass the Senate without Democratic votes.
For more on this week’s agenda, read our Washington Week Ahead.
Trump opens new front in Canadian trade spat
Trump this weekend directed officials to probe whether lumber and timber imports are hurting national security – kickstarting a process that could lead to new tariffs.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will lead the probe. The department has 270 days to report its findings and recommend next steps, which may include tariffs, export controls and measures to boost domestic production.
Canada provides the bulk of U.S. wood imports. The products have been at the center of a long-running trade dispute between the two countries. The U.S. has long complained that the Canadian lumber industry benefits from unfair subsidies that allow it to price products below the fair market rate.
The move is sure to further disgruntle Canadian policymakers. Any new tariffs emerging from the new probe would land on top of new U.S. duties slated for Tuesday that are already rankling Canadian leaders and consumers.
FAS: Beijing has gone dark over expired U.S. export registrations
USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service says Chinese customs officials haven’t responded to efforts to renew registrations for more than 80 U.S. export facilities that expired in February.
Beijing requires the registration of all meat, poultry, dairy and seafood facilities that export to China.
In February, registrations for dozens of U.S. poultry, seven dairy, four beef and two pork facilities expired. Some of the facilities’ registrations expired as early as Feb. 4.
As of last week, FAS China said it had not heard of any facilities’ exports being delayed or refused customs clearance.
Survey shows support for state legislation curbing pesticide suits
A new survey shows that nearly two thirds of adults in 12 heavily agricultural states are “deeply concerned that litigation against crop protection manufacturers will undermine domestic agricultural supply chains and U.S. food security.”
The Modern Ag Alliance’s survey, which is being released today, says about 80% of farmers and 65% of all Americans, “including 68% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats – share this concern.”
MAA was founded by Bayer and includes about 90 groups supporting legislation to restrict state product liability lawsuits against pesticide manufacturers who fail to warn of health and safety risks. Bills have been introduced in eight states to accomplish this, including Iowa, where a Senate subcommittee advanced a product liability bill last month.
Bayer faces thousands of lawsuits by people alleging that their exposure to Roundup caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
APHIS targets Mexico for screwworm control
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is shifting its dispersal of sterile screwworm flies into Mexico in a bid to push the pest away from the United States and back towards Panama.
The agency has identified two locations in Mexico for sterile screwworm fly dispersal centers, a shift in a battle against a pest that has been increasingly creeping northward, according to a notice from the agency.
Final word
“This is an extremely aggressive effort that I fully support. But in being so aggressive, there will be mistakes made, and there have been mistakes made.” – Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, acknowledging to reporters that USDA has had to hire back some terminated employees.
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
