Federal

While U.S. sugar beet and sugarcane crops are not yet harvested — and Louisiana’s flooding illustrates that anything can happen in an otherwise excellent growing year — USDA’s Economic Research Service is projecting record sugar production.  ERS is forecasting domestic raw sugar production at 9.208 million tons for 2016/17, eclipsing the high mark of 9.05 million tons established in 1999/2000. The forecast includes 5.32 million tons of beet sugar and 3.89 million tons of cane sugar. [node:read-more:link]

The National Grain and Feed Association will be taking a close look at a Surface Transportation Board proposal to develop a new rail rate review process designed to make it easier for grain shippers to challenge unreasonable rates.Under procedures outlined in the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), the STB would design a “comparison group” of similar rail shipments that it would use to judge the reasonableness of the rate being challenged. [node:read-more:link]

Deere & Co. was sued by U.S. antitrust officials seeking to block its purchase of Monsanto Co.’s Precision Planting LLC equipment business, a deal the government says would eliminate competition and raise costs for farmers. Deere’s acquisition would combine the only two significant U.S. providers of high-speed precision planting systems used by farms, giving the company control of close to 90 percent of the U.S. market, the Justice Department said Wednesday in a complaint filed in federal court in Chicago. [node:read-more:link]

"Today's farm income forecast underscores the unique ability of American farmers and ranchers to plan ahead and make sharp business decisions in a challenging market, as net farm income for 2015 was revised up significantly to $80.7 billion-an increase of 43 percent since the February forecast. Falling production expenses, including the price of fuel and inputs, was the largest contributor to this latest rally by farmers. Just last week, farm exports for 2016 were revised up to one of the highest levels on record, demonstrating that U.S. farmers and ranchers continue to beat expectations. [node:read-more:link]

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced an initiative that will use USDA's rural development resources to help fill the need for transitional housing for people recovering from opioid and other substance use disorders. In January, President Obama tasked Vilsack, who is chair of the White House Rural Council, with leading a federal interagency effort focused on rural opioid use. [node:read-more:link]

Monroe and Ontario counties were among fifteen New York counties designated Monday as primary natural disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to recent drought-related losses. [node:read-more:link]

The traditional corn-cotton-wheat coalition covered an extensive area of national production but concentrated within regions: corn in the Midwest, cotton in the South, and wheat split north to south in the Great Plains. USDA-NASS planted acres data indicates a significant change in commodity plantings over the course of farm bill history (1933 to 2014) as shown in Figure 1. Perhaps, the most notable trend is the increased acres planted to soybeans, going from negligible acres in 1933 to the second-largest crop in the country at over 83 million acres in 2014. [node:read-more:link]

This issue brief examines whether and how much of the Marketplace premium differences between expansion and non-expansion states are  due  to the direct impact of states’ decisions to expand Medicaid. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans Aug. 24 to purchase shell eggs and egg products for surplus removal. [node:read-more:link]

The FAA said Monday there will be 600,000 commercial drone aircraft operating in the U.S. within the year as the result of new safety rules that opened the skies to them. The rules governing the operation of small commercial drones were designed to protect safety without stifling innovation, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said at a Washington D.C. [node:read-more:link]