Bill Tomson

With the war in Ukraine dragging on, farmers in the European Union are going to be allowed to plant crops on conservation acreage this spring, and there is new pressure on the Biden administration to do the same.

The U.S. and Japan have reached a deal that would make it less likely that the Japanese safeguard trigger will boost tariffs on U.S. beef, as it has done in the past.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says it’s far too early to tell how much impact the war in Ukraine will ultimately have on consumers and global food supplies.

Lawmakers and farm groups continue to press the Biden administration to begin negotiating free trade agreements, but U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is downplaying the importance of such pacts.

Barges full of Moroccan phosphate that arrive in New Orleans are still moving up the Mississippi River, but that fertilizer isn’t for U.S. farmers. Countervailing duties the U.S. slapped on Moroccan phosphate giant OCP last year make that impossible, so the much-needed farm input is going to Canada instead.

Brazil’s Ministry of Economy announced Tuesday that beginning Wednesday, Brazil will suspend its 18% tariff on ethanol imports for the rest of 2022 in an inflation-cutting effort to reduce fuel prices domestically.

The Canadian Pacific Railway, an essential factor in delivering potash to the market in the U.S. and ports for shipment around the globe, will resume operation Tuesday after a deal was reached with striking union members.

The Canadian Pacific Railway – a key transportation route for fertilizer delivery to the U.S., Brazil and elsewhere - has shut down amid stalled labor negotiations between the railroad and the Teamsters Rail Conference Canada union.

The Senate next week will take a key step to begin negotiations with the House on an international competitiveness bill.