| | | | | |  | | By Ryan McCrimmon | With help from Sabrina Rodriguez and Eric Wolff Editor's Note: Morning Agriculture is a free version of POLITICO Pro Agriculture's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
| | | — The Senate is soon expected to pass a bipartisan House bill that would overhaul the rules for small business stimulus loans, making it easier for companies to have the loans forgiven by the government. The agriculture industry has already received more than $7 billion through the program. — Wisconsin lawmakers want the Agriculture Department to explain why experienced milk processors and distributors in the major dairy state received very little money under USDA's food box program to supply farm products to food banks. — Chinese companies were still buying U.S. soybeans on Monday despite reports that Beijing had ordered a halt of American farm imports. A drop in Chinese demand prompted USDA last week to lower its ag export forecast for the year. HAPPY TUESDAY, JUNE 2! Welcome to Morning Ag, and check out these photos from the historic space launch over the weekend. Send tips to rmccrimmon@politico.com and @ryanmccrimmon, and follow us @Morning_Ag. | | | RESTAURANTS' PUSH FOR LOOSER LOAN RULES PAYING OFF: The ag industry and its allies in Congress pushed hard to make sure that farmers and ranchers could benefit from the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which offers forgivable loans to small businesses that keep their workers on the payroll for eight weeks. Now, lawmakers are on track to ease the restrictions surrounding how employers use the loans, reports Pro Financial Services' Zachary Warmbrodt. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the chamber would soon take up the House-passed legislation that would give borrowing businesses extra time to spend the money and more flexibility to use it on a variety of expenses. If no senators raise objections, the Senate might quickly pass the legislation by unanimous consent, according to a Republican aide. The restaurant industry has furiously lobbied Congress and the administration to make such changes to the PPP loans, a centerpiece of Washington's economic rescue packages. Farms with fewer than 500 employees also qualify for the program, though it wasn't designed with agriculture in mind. By the numbers: Businesses in agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing have received nearly $7.6 billion so far in PPP loans, according to the Small Business Administration. That's 1.5 percent of the $510 billion approved by the agency as of May 30. Other sectors like health care, construction and professional services had each received more than $50 billion in loans. | | | | TOMORROW – GET A FRONT ROW SEAT FOR A LIVE INTERVIEW WITH U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION ELAINE CHAO. What does it take to lead a major government agency during a pandemic? Join Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman as they kick off our "Inside the Recovery" virtual interview series, with special guest Secretary Chao. The conversation will explore the role the Department of Transportation plays in the recovery, the state of the nation's infrastructure, and whether an infrastructure focused relief package can happen before the November election. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | FEW FOOD BOX FUNDS FOR DAIRY-STATE DISTRIBUTORS: House and Senate Democrats from Wisconsin have a beef with USDA's choice of contractors for its new $3 billion program to buy surplus farm products and distribute them to food banks and other nonprofits: There's barely any money for dairy distributors in their state. In a letter today to Secretary Sonny Perdue, the members led by Rep. Ron Kind said Wisconsin-based businesses received less than 1 percent of the funding to source dairy products and fluid milk. For example, they said USDA rejected a joint application from the Hunger Task Force and dozens of local farmers "on a seeming technicality" — even though the group was already working on a state program to simultaneously help hungry families and distressed farmers dumping their surplus milk. "Considering the impact COVID-19 has had on the dairy industry, we expected that our well established dairy producers, processors and distributors in Wisconsin — America's Dairyland — would be particularly well funded by USDA to fill the need," they wrote. USDA so far has awarded $1.2 billion to nearly 200 companies (including several with scant experience in large-scale food distribution ) to supply boxes of dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables to feeding programs across the country. Companies that were left out could potentially qualify for a second round of contracts. ICYMI: The initial effort has already helped many food banks struggling to keep up with surging demand amid the economic crisis. But lawmakers and industry groups have increasingly questioned some of the firms that received large contracts despite unclear qualifications for the program. In their letter today, the Wisconsin Democrats noted that USDA offered "little clarity about why some relatively unknown companies received contracts" and didn't disclose basic information about the contractors, like their physical address. HOLD UP ON THOSE HEMP HEALTH CLAIMS: A federal judge has issued a permanent injunction against an herbal company that made unfounded medical claims about its products, including hemp seed oil, writes Pro Cannabis' Mona Zhang. Rahsan Hakim and Adoniiah Rahsan, operators of the Bronx-based Sundial Herbal Products, were ordered by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos to cease distributing unapproved drugs, after the FDA repeatedly warned the company that it was violating federal laws. The business claimed that its organic hemp seed oil "suppresses the growth of cancer." The Justice Department sued the company in June 2018 on behalf of the FDA, and the court "concluded that Sundial's products have no published adequate and well-controlled studies to support their claims," the agency said. | | | | 
Soybeans | Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo | CHECKING IN ON CHINA'S AG PURCHASES: The Chinese government ordered state-run agricultural firms to stop buying U.S. farm goods including soybeans, amid rising tension between Washington and Beijing, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Several buyers also canceled orders of American pork. But, but, but: Despite the order, which also covers corn and cotton, state-owned companies purchased at least 180,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans on Monday for shipment in the fall, Reuters reports. Chinese importers still have not covered a large share of their October and November soybean needs, according to U.S. traders. The big picture: It's yet another sign that the phase one trade pact might not be a gamechanger for farmers, ranchers and businesses after all. Under the deal, China was supposed to buy at least $36.5 billion in U.S. ag products this year. But USDA on Friday scaled back its export projections by $3 billion in part because of weaker Chinese demand. "Phase one was always on weak legs, and now we're seeing that," said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, at a CSIS event on Monday. "If Trump walks fully from the deal … it definitely means that it's going to be harder for American farmers and others in the Midwest counting on these exports" to fuel their recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Kennedy said the apparent ag import freeze could be linked to Trump's threats to remove Hong Kong's privileged trade status, or the steps Washington has taken to crack down on Chinese tech company Huawei. Want more insight on China? Stay in the loop with POLITICO's new China Watcher newsletter. | | | | THE CRITICAL COVID-19 FACTS AND PERSPECTIVE YOU NEED, NIGHTLY: The coronavirus death count passed a grim milestone in the U.S. as a growing number of regions reopen parts of their economies. The debate on wearing masks continues to rage and schools are indefinitely closed. For critical Covid-19 insight, context and analysis from experts across our global newsroom choose POLITICO Nightly. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | — Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts' upcoming retirement has left Kansas Republicans in a pickle. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo didn't enter the Senate race before the Monday filing deadline, and national GOP leaders fear a messy primary could be won by Kris Kobach, a controversial former state official who lost the 2018 race for Kansas governor by 5 percentage points. POLITICO's James Arkin has the story. — Sugarbeet growers and co-ops are on track for a more lucrative year with higher production and prices, according to a new report from CoBank. The industry faced extreme weather challenges and market disruptions in the 2019-20 marketing year, but it's positioned for a rebound as consumer demand for sugar remains high. — The National Wildlife Fund wants the EPA to use its waiver authority to reduce biofuel blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard, citing a "clear and present danger to the environment" from the program. The stance puts them in line with a bipartisan group of oil-state governors asking the EPA to lower the volume of biofuels that must be blended into the U.S. gasoline pool, our Pro Energy friends tell MA. — The CBO expects that the coronavirus will sap nearly $16 trillion from the U.S. economy over the next decade. The projection is ratcheting up pressure on Congress to approve additional stimulus programs. More from Pro Budget's Caitlin Emma. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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