RVP Period Begins Friday as Fuel Prices Climb Higher

Friday is the beginning of the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) restriction on E15 sales across most of the country during the summer driving season. The restriction runs from June 1 to September 15. It comes at a time when American drivers would benefit greatly from some relief at the pump. Instead, consumers are barred from purchasing lower cost fuel at a time when gas prices are approaching a national average of three dollars per gallon. That’s a higher average price than consumers have paid in years. “Every summer, earth-friendly E15 is held to tougher standards than other fuels sold year-round, cutting off sales and imposing needless costs on retailers and consumers alike,” says Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. Retailers face costs of up to $1.5 million each year just to relabel their pumps around RVP, while other markets are entirely shut off for consumers because retailers can’t adjust for these astronomical barriers. “RVP relief now means lifting our rural economy out of the worst crisis in a generation, with farm income plunging to a 12-year low,” Skor says. “It also means putting the industry on a path to generate 1.3 billion gallons of additional ethanol demand within five years.”

Canada Approves Bayer Acquisition of Monsanto, with Conditions

The Canadian Competition Bureau has officially approved Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, with some conditions. The agreement addresses the Bureau’s concerns that the acquisition would have significantly harmed competition and innovation in Canada’s agricultural sector. Following a review of the sale, the Bureau concluded that the merger would substantially lessen and prevent competition in Canada with respect to the supply of canola seeds and traits, soybean seeds and traits, seed treatments that protect crops against nematodes, and carrot seeds. In order to address those concerns, the agreement requires Bayer to sell its canola seeds and trait business, soybean seeds and traits business, carrot seed business, as well as the nematode seed treatment business, as well as other assets. Bayer has proposed BASF as the buyer of these assets and the Bureau is looking into the suitability of BASF as the proposed buyer. The Bureau is satisfied that the agreement will preserve and protect innovation and competition in important agricultural inputs such as canola seeds, which is Canada’s highest-acreage crop.

Second Smithfield Trial Underway in North Carolina

A second lawsuit against Smithfield Foods began this week in a federal court located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s the second trial involving claims from local residents that a hog farm contracted with Smithfield uses an inadequate waste disposal system. The residents claim that the inadequate system undermines their quality of life. Lawyers will argue over whether Smithfield should be held liable for damages from storing waste from 4,700 hogs in open-air lagoons and spraying it onto farm fields as fertilizer. The trial stems from dozens of cases filed against Smithfield, the world’s biggest pork producer, on the grounds that hog farms using the lagoon-and-spray model make life miserable for nearby residents. Noxious fumes, carcass-laden trucks, and swarms of flies associated with industrial-scale hog production are all things that residents are giving as reasons behind the suit. Hog farming is big business and a pillar of the state’s economy. The first trial was held in April, when a jury awarded the plaintiffs $50 million dollars, although the judge reduced it to $2.5 million in punitive damages. Kenneth Smith, Smithfield President, says, “If the lawsuits succeed, the company will have to revisit whether we can continue doing business in North Carolina.” 

Interior Collaborates with Idaho Partners to Improve Vital Habitat for Wildlife

Sage-grouse habitat project will remove more than half a million acres of encroaching juniper

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management today signed the Record of Decision for the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-Grouse Habitat Project. This Decision authorizes the removal of encroaching western juniper on 617,000 acres in a 1.67 million-acre area of sagebrush-steppe habitat in Owyhee County. The project was developed in collaboration with the Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Department of Lands, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.“This vital landscape project demonstrates the Department of the Interior’s commitment to shared conservation stewardship through collaboration with our state partners,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. “Working together on projects like this enhances conditions on our public lands for wildlife, ranching and recreation.”“This is great news for Idaho’s continuing efforts to maintain and improve sage-grouse habitat,”Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said. “It’s an example of the kind of on-the-ground federal, state and local collaboration that can make a real difference for the species and improve the lives and livelihoods of ranchers, recreationists and other land users in Owyhee County.”“This project will allow conservation partners to move quickly on landscape habitat restoration projects that are proving to have a tremendous impact for mule deer, sage-grouse and other species dependent on sagebrush rangelands,” said Mule Deer Foundation President/CEO Miles Moretti. “MDF has been actively involved in a number of habitat stewardship projects in recent years that have shown by removing encroaching junipers or replanting native grasses, shrubs, and forbs we can make a difference on restoring our native western rangelands, which is beneficial for wildlife as well as other public land users.”“Junipers are such significant invasive plants that even small amounts of them cause Sage-grouse to avoid and abandon habitat,” said Virgil Moore, Director of Idaho Fish and Game. “Juniper removal is an effective conservation practice that results in Sage-grouse reoccupancy of treated rangelands. This project on these iconic western lands of Idaho’s Owyhee County is possible because of the strong partnerships forged through collaboration over the past decade with the people who use these working landscapes and desire proper management and conservation to benefit Sage-grouse.”“When we can work together to respond to the collective needs of species, land, and people, good things happen," said Idaho Cattle Association President Tucker Shaw. “This project is not only an important step for sage-grouse conservation, but embodies the benefits of localized collaboration to maintain working landscapes in harmony with sound stewardship of our resources.”Juniper encroachment has been identified as a major threat to western sage-brush ecosystems. As junipers intrude into sagebrush habitat, the steppe vegetation begins to die off because it is unable to compete for water, nutrients, space, and sunlight. Juniper removal helps develop a landscape that is more resilient and promotes a diverse plant community. Over the life of this 15-year project, no juniper will be cut within designated wilderness areas or lands with wilderness characteristics and no old-growth trees will be removed.Juniper removal projects build on proactive land management policies and practices to conserve the region's remaining sagebrush habitat, which supports abundant wildlife, including sage-grouse, mule deer, elk, pronghorn antelope and golden eagles, as well as significant economic activity, including ranching and recreation.The BLM issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project on Feb. 9, 2018. The Final EIS, Record of Decision and other relevant documents are available on the BLM ePlanning website at https://go.usa.gov/xnAKz. Hard copies of these documents are also available for review at the BLM-Idaho Boise District Office, 3948 Development Ave., Boise, ID, 83705, during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. 

Opportunity for kids started in the cattle industry is knocking

BILLINGS, MONT.--The opportunity for kids started in the cattle industry is knocking, and loudly. Applications for the NILE Merit Heifer program are now available for the 2018-2019 year.
The NILE Merit Heifer program is a live animal scholarship, meaning the recipients are given a young, live, female cow. The objective is to to help youth get a start in the beef cattle business.
Program participants are chosen based on merit, future goals, and ability to care for the animal. 4-H or FFA members who are 12-16 years old may apply. Applicants are not limited to Montana residents.
During the program duration, participants are responsible for care-taking, record keeping, breeding, and bringing the heifer back one year later to the NILE Stock Show & Rodeo. The class of merit heifer recipients competes for best phenotype, best record book, and overall top showman.
"This program would not be possible without the generous support of our donors over the years," says NILE General Manager Jennifer Boka. "We are truly grateful for them since the program's inception."
In addition to applications from eligible kids, the NILE is also accepting information from ranches wishing to donate a heifer calf.
Applications and a link to the YouTube video must be received no later than June 30, 2018. Applications available online at www.thenile.org
Application Requirements: complete application character referenceswritten essay3-5 minute YouTube video (should include, but is not limited to):an introductionfacility tourcurrent 4-H/FFA projectsgoals and objectives for the Merit Heifervoiced by the applicant
An example YouTube video can be seen here.
For more information regarding the NILE Merit Heifer Program, please email Shelby at shelby@thenile.org or call the NILE Office at (406) 256-2495. 

Brazil Levies Deforestation Fines on Grain Firms

(Dow Jones) -- Brazil's environmental agency announces $29M worth of fines to major grain trading companies, including international giants Cargill and Bunge, for transgressing the country's deforestation policy by purchasing soybeans from protected areas. The Brazilian body, Ibama, used "geospatial data" to confirm the infractions, mainly in Brazil's Cerrado region. A Bunge spokeswoman says the company disputes the charges and is formally contesting them. A Cargill spokeswoman says the company hasn't received official word from Ibama on the matter, and is investigating. Deforestation for decades has been blamed on farmers' push to convert millions of Brazilian land over to crops, and international grain companies have pledged to help curb the practice.

China Could Cut US Trade Surplus by $100B

(Dow Jones) -- Trump initially said he wanted the US/China trade gap to shrink by $100 billion. JPMorgan says that's plausible if China imports more American planes, automobiles, semiconductors and commodity products. But the upgraded $200 billion target? Very challenging, if not impossible, as constraints exist on both sides, the investment bank adds.