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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Mexico is willing to make a deal to annually exempt U.S. feed corn from a coming ban on genetically modified corn, but no deal is being considered on white corn for direct human consumption, according to a statement issued by the office of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The House voted Wednesday to head off a possible railroad strike that could bring fertilizer shipments to a halt as soon as this weekend and potentially devastate the broader economy.
The Agriculture Department reduced its fiscal 2023 forecast for U.S. ag exports to $190 billion, a $3.5 billion drop from the agency’s last estimate in August, largely reflecting weaker expectations for soybean sales.
The U.S. and some allied nations won a key battle last week in Rome over the international acceptance of the livestock industry’s ability to use a key growth-promoting drug, but the European Union, China and others managed to barely block a full victory.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put a bill to avoid a rail strike on the agenda after President Joe Biden called on Congress Monday to pass legislation adopting a deal brokered by the White House.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack personally warned Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador against banning genetically modified corn and later said the Biden administration expects to receive a proposal soon from Mexico on how to “engage in dialogue assuring the safety of biotechnology products.”
The produce industry is pointing to the release of USDA’s Farm Labor Survey the day before Thanksgiving as a reason for passing farm workforce legislation.
Lawmakers resume their lame duck session this week facing a deadline looming to avert a government shutdown, but they will also take some time to put a spotlight on a proposed merger of supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons.
The U.S. corn sector has been adamant that it cannot easily or quickly shift to producing non-GMO corn to comply with an upcoming Mexican ban, but Brazilian and Argentine farmers are also telling Mexico that it’s mistaken if it thinks it can rely on them to make up for the coming loss of U.S. supplies.