The Trump administration is preparing to release a sweeping plan for reorganizing the federal government that includes a major consolidation of welfare programs — and a renaming of the Health and Human Services Department. The report, set to be released in the coming weeks by the White House Office of Management and Budget, seeks to move safety-net programs, including food stamps, into HHS.  The plan would also propose changing the name of the sprawling department, while separately seeking cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department. [node:read-more:link]

Congress should check its assumptions and not simply accept financial hardship for farmers as a given. Reforms in trade policy to protect the integrity of emerging markets, combined with a strong competition policy, could further aid more profitable domestic market development. For our farmers and rural communities, new thinking on how we can better support profitability and locally-owned development — rather than repeating past mistakes — is urgently needed. [node:read-more:link]

President Trump wants to end the three-party talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, aiming instead to deal separately with Canada and Mexico to restructure the trade accord, a senior adviser said Tuesday. Trump does not intend to withdraw from NAFTA, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said on “Fox & Friends.” But after more than one year of multilateral discussions, he feels the current approach hasn’t been fruitful and a new one is needed, Kudlow said. [node:read-more:link]

William Wallace Cargill pioneered the modern agricultural trading industry in 1865 when he established a string of grain warehouses across the American Midwest. Having a deep-pocketed buyer that could take delivery locally gave farmers an easy way to quickly get cash for their crops, lest they rot in the field waiting on a sale or transport to a faraway market. The ability to store huge amounts of grain also gave Cargill the flexibility to time his own sales to maximize the spread between what he paid farmers and what he could get from distant food processors or exporters. [node:read-more:link]

The ag economy isn't great and many producers are struggling to break even. In the past, farmers accepted losses and even looked at them as opportunities. Having good and bad years is just part of the rollercoaster called farming. However, the new tax law changed how we look at farm losses. Under the old tax law and the 2014 Farm Bill, taxpayers who received a Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan were restricted in the deductibility of a farm loss (this rule didn't apply to C corporations). [node:read-more:link]

If a trade war is coming, the cheesemakers of Wisconsin are standing in the line of fire. So are the farmers of the Great Plains and the distillers of Kentucky. And the employees of iconic American brands like Harley-Davidson and Levi Strauss. The likelihood of a trade conflagration leapt closer to reality this week after the United States imposed tariff on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Infuriated, the jilted U.S. allies vowed to retaliate with tariffs of their own. And in a separate dispute, China is poised to penalize $50 billion in U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The Corn Utilization and Technology Conference is organized by NCGA or the National Corn Growers Association. It happens every two years and is dedicated to exploring future uses of corn. Vijay Singh is a regular. He works for the agricultural college at the University of Illinois and specializes in engineering ethanol processing plants. Singh sees them expanding to include biochemical production in the near future, “That’s the big thing right now and for that, we need large amounts of sugar. The U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The National Pork Board and USDA are working to create a Secure Pork Supply plan to help lower the disruption to producers and the marketplace if a foreign animal disease (FAD) event occurs. The plan is intended to help pig farmers prepare and quickly respond if an FAD occurs, and is similar to plans in development for other livestock and poultry producers. The plan enhances communication and coordination of all pork chain segments to help producers keep their farms operating and all related business activities functioning. [node:read-more:link]

A Texas man was doing yard work when he spotted a four-foot rattlesnake. He beheaded the snake with a shovel—but when he went to dispose of it, the severed head bit him. The man received a massive dose of the snake’s venom. He became seriously ill and had to be air-lifted to a hospital, where he required a large number of doses of antivenom. A week later he remains in stable condition. The snake was reported to be a Western diamondback rattlesnake.This story is perhaps not as uncommon as it may seem, because snakes—like many other reptiles—retain their reflexes even hours after death. [node:read-more:link]

Federal officials are considering a proposal to add mining to the list of sectors covered by federal legislation that grants funds and speeds up infrastructure projects. The law is called Fixing America’s Surface Transportation, aka FAST-41, passed in 2015. [node:read-more:link]