An overhaul of the agricultural guest-worker program will be part of the immigration packages that the U.S. House of Representatives will likely debate on Thursday, but basically has little chance of passing.The House will vote on a pair of immigration bills, but lawmakers and observers expect both bills will go down in defeat. One of the bills, the so-called "compromise bill," HR 6136, focuses on spending $25 billion for a wall along the southern border and making it harder to immigrate to the U.S. by ending the visa lottery program. [node:read-more:link]

In reaction to weak farm income, the percentage of banks increasing farm loan rejection rates expanded from 23.9 percent to 42.9 percent over the past year. Almost two-thirds of bankers indicated their banks had increased collateral requirements on farm loans in reaction to weak farm income. On average, bankers expect farmland prices to decline by 2.1 percent over the next 12 months. This is less than the 3.1 percent projected fall recorded last year at this time.
  [node:read-more:link]

For a fourth straight month the overall index rose above growth neutral. On average, bankers expect farm loan defaultsto rise by only 3.0 percent over the next 12 months. • Over the past year, average annual cash rents on farmland declined by 3.0 percent to $239 per acre. More than one-third of bank CEOs identified rising regulatory costs as the top economic challenge to their banking operations over the next five years. [node:read-more:link]

PG&E Corp. and its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric, announced today in an 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will record a $2.5 billion pre-tax charge related to deadly wildfires in Northern California last year. [node:read-more:link]

Senate and House Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday released a report, "Investing in Rural America," on the needs of rural America and promised to push congress to invest more in rural areas.In a call to reporters, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., the ranking Democrat on the committee, said, "Many rural communities are still recovering from the Great Recession, more than 10 years after it hit us. Millions of rural residents lack reliable access to broadband. The rural population is aging and shrinking, and wages have been stuck for too long. [node:read-more:link]

As an Australian, I’ve have been resisting the temptation these past few months to react to the Trump Administration’s big infrastructure plans with “The U.S. could learn a lot from my country.” The international comparison gambit rarely works well in America, and I don’t want to appear too parochial. But I have learned a lot from the Australian example, and I think now is the time to share, as the Trump Administration pursues a plan of federal infrastructure investment intended to stimulate state, local and private investments. [node:read-more:link]

The Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources recently issued a permit for Valley Oaks Steak Co. to increase the number of cattle it can maintain to 6,999 in its Missouri animal feedlot operation. Currently, the facility outside of Lone Jack, Missouri, has a limit of 999 head of cattle.   Missouri DNR granted a Class IB NPDES permit to Valley Oaks Steak at the Lone Jack facility, which makes it subject to concentrated animal feeding operations regulations and permit requirements. [node:read-more:link]

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed search warrants at four Fresh Mark meat processing locations in Ohio and made 146 arrests at the company’s Salem, Ohio, location for immigration violations. The arrests are a culmination of a year-long investigation into evidence that Fresh Mark willfully and knowingly hired illegal aliens using identification that belonged to US citizens. [node:read-more:link]

Should a federal agency issue a regulation that will impose up to $3.5 billion in costs next year, and billions more in the coming decade — while delivering essentially no benefits? That sounds crazy. But a few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed to do exactly that. The proposal is the outgrowth of the long-standing national battle over whether to require labels for bioengineered (or genetically modified) foods. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. is imposing a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion in Chinese goods. The Trump administration claims theft of intellectual property and unfair trading practices is the reasoning behind the tariffs. China is responding to the U.S. by hitting Trump’s base in the agriculture and automobile industries.“Trade is complex. A good trade deal for one sector can pose risk for the other,” said Brandon Willis, a professor of applied economics at Utah State University and senior advisor to the former secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack.“If you take a step back," he said, "the U.S. [node:read-more:link]