Jesse Allen

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, issued the following statement after it was revealed that the latest year-end funding package being considered by Congress no longer includes language that would provide for the year-round sale of E15, a fuel made with 15% homegrown bioethanol that costs less than regular fuel and can be used in 96% of cars on the road today:

(WASHINGTON D.C.)– On Thursday, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was named as the ranking member on the Senate Ag Committee.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) — The latest Cattle on Feed report from USDA came out for December 2024 and was fairly neutral and in line with pre-report expectations.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) — Late Friday night and early Saturday morning, the U.S House and Senate passed a continuing resolution, the American Relief Act of 2025, to keep the government open. The act also included economic aid for farmers, disaster aid and an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced another round of states coming on board with the National Milk Testing Strategy that launched on December 6. It requires unpasteurized milk samples to be collected and shared with USDA for testing.

China’s Sinograin bought almost 500,000 metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. for shipping in March or April. Two U.S. traders familiar with the purchase say Sinograin paid more for American supplies for its state reserves rather than buying cheaper beans from Brazil. China is the world’s number one soybean buyer and an important market for both the U.S. and Brazil.

USDA says red meat production fell year over year in November as cattle and hog slaughter both declined. Commercial meat output totaled 4.56 billion pounds in November, down three percent from November 2023.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) — On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of Stephen Vaden to be the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture at USDA.

Congress passed a year-end bill that includes a continuing resolution extending current levels of federal funding until March, including an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.

In February 2023, the Mexican government put out two decrees that dealt with corn imports from the U.S. Dave Salmonsen, senior director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, says both decrees were found to be in violation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.