Trump’s Big Trumpeting Day in Iowa
President Donald Trump speaks in Iowa today about agriculture technology. Along with Commerce Secretary Wilber Ross and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Trump is traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa today to visit the Kirkwood Community College to talk agriculture tech, and then hold a rally in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Ag Leaders Committed to Trade
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and agriculture officials from Mexico and Canada say they all are committed to keeping markets open and transparent. The trio released a statement Tuesday while meeting in Georgia. Perdue hosted his counterparts to talk trade in advance of North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations expected this fall.

COOL is Still Cool
R-CALF thinks so, and they’ve filed a lawsuit against USDA about it. R-CALF claims current regulations allow meat slaughtered overseas to be labeled as a U.S. product, leading to consumer confusion. R-CALF has been a long-time supporter of COOL, or Country-of-Origin Labeling for meat, despite that the World Trade Organization ruled it violated international trade law. The U.S. Congress repealed the rule in 2015 after the WTO authorized retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. over COOL.

Dicamba Not so Cool
A Group of Arkansas farmers is suing Monsanto and BASF over dicamba-based herbicide drift troubles. The state is investigating more than 125 complaints about dicamba drift or misuse. The farmers claim BASF and Monsanto knew dicamba would destroy nearby non-tolerant crops. Meanwhile, Arkansas was mulling a temporary ban on the sales and use of Dicamba. The ban would be in place for 120 days if approved and signed by the state’s governor. The Department’s Plant Board voted 11-3 Tuesday to limit  Engenia Dicamba application to hooded sprayers only with a one-mile buffer downwind.

U.S.-U.K Trade Deal Discussed
Formal negotiations can’t begin until the United Kingdom exits the European Union officially in 2019, but that’s not stopping the U.K. and the U.S. from exploring a possible bilateral trade agreement. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke with his counterpart from the U.K. this week to discuss laying the groundwork for a possible trade deal. The U.K. at last known record imported 25 percent of its food from the EU and just four percent from countries in North America.

Ag Groups Line up to Support Doud
A handful of agriculture groups expressed support for White House pick for chief ag negotiator at USTR, Gregg Doud, including CropLife America, The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, and the American Soybean Association. The White House confirmed last week that Doud, the current Commodity Markets Council President, is Trump’s nominee to take the spot formerly occupied by Darci Vetter during the Obama administration. Doud has also worked for the Senate Agriculture Committee and the served as an economist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Market Snapshot
Corn, beans, and cattle all closed lower Tuesday, while wheat closed higher and hogs were mixed. Grains were following Monday’s weekly crop progress report from USDA that puts corn and bean planting nearly complete, and condition ratings 65 percent or better, good to excellent. Cattle were lower on reported lower wholesale beef prices.

Corn
Jul-2017 370-0s -5-2
Sep-2017 378-0s -5-2
Dec-2017 388-0s -5-2

Soybeans
Jul-2017 927-6s -10-0
Aug-2017 931-4s -10-2
Sep-2017 933-2s -10-4

Wheat
Jul-2017 472-4s +5-4
Sep-2017 487-6s +4-6
Dec-2017 509-0s +5-2

Live Cattle
Jun-2017 120.350s +0.350
Aug-2017 115.900s -0.200
Oct-2017

Feeder Cattle
Aug-2017 143.925s -1.075
Sep-2017 143.325s -1.150
Oct-2017 141.750s -1.150

Lean Hogs
Jul-2017 85.000s +1.100
Aug-2017 81.650s +0.175
Oct-2017 69.700s +0.325

Class III Milk
Jun-2017 16.33 +0.01
Jul-2017 15.86 -0.11
Aug-2017 16.68 -0.05