October 27, 2025
Trump Terminates Trade Talks with Canada
U.S. President Donald Trump announced an immediate end to trade negotiations with Canada late Thursday night. The Guardian said it’s a result of Trump’s opposition to a TV ad from Canada that quoted former president Ronald Reagan. The provincial government of Ontario paid for the ad, which uses excerpts from a 1987 speech where the former president said, “Trade barriers hurt every American worker.” Trump posted on social media that Canada had “fraudulently” used an advertisement which he called “fake,” and accused Canada of trying to interfere with U.S. court decisions on the tariffs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that all trade negotiations have been suspended indefinitely. Trump also claimed that the ad was intended to influence the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearings on the legality of his global tariffs. Those hearings begin on November 5. The ad also quoted Reagan as saying, “The way to prosperity is working together.”
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Millions to lose SNAP Benefits on November 1
Millions of Americans face losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on November 1. Half of the American states plan to end those benefits because the federal government remains shut down. Politico says 25 states have confirmed they’ll be sending letters to program participants to let them know that no checks will be issued in November. Some of the states include California, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, and others. Politico also said states are trying to maintain the programs using their own money and emergency funding from the Trump administration, but the money is running out. Reuters said over 41 million people currently participate in SNAP. Almost seven million people also risk losing their November benefits in the Women’s, Infants, and Children Program, also known as WIC (wick). “Nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC are directly in the crossfire of spending negotiations, with the shutdown recently entering the fourth straight week,” Reuters reported.
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U.S. Already Faces Trade Imbalance with Argentina
In a misguided effort to lower beef prices in U.S. grocery stores, President Trump plans to increase the volume of beef imports from Argentina. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said efforts to manipulate markets only risk damaging the livelihoods of American producers while doing little to impact what consumers pay at the grocery store. “The U.S. already faces a deep trade imbalance with Argentina, and it will only be made worse by the President’s plan,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. “During the past five years, Argentina has shipped more than $800 million worth of beef to the U.S., while purchasing only $7 million worth of U.S. beef.” As if that’s not enough, Argentina as a nation has a long history of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks, and Woodall said USDA hasn’t completed the necessary steps to ensure Argentina can guarantee the safety of products being shipped here, further endangering America’s cattle herd.
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2025 Wheat Crop Quality Report Provides Essential Information
After collecting and analyzing over 2,250 samples of wheat collected from coast to coast, U.S. Wheat Associates has published the 2025 U.S. Crop Quality Report. The report provides essential, objective information to help global wheat buyers purchase the wheat they need at the best possible value. “The Crop Quality Report provides data to help wheat buyers make informed decisions and to support our millers and bakers in understanding how this year’s crop will perform in their operations,” said Erica Oakley, USW vice president of operations. “A report like this would not be possible without the dedication of American wheat farmers.” Find all crop quality reports and related information at uswheat.org/cropquality. USW staff will take this data to international customers during the organization’s annual crop quality seminars. The global showcase will include 35 seminars in 30 countries across all regions of the world. Non-English versions will be available after translation is complete.
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Quick Frozen Sorghum Officially Hits the Market
The United Sorghum Checkoff Program, in collaboration with Riviana Foods and Harvest Food Group, announced the launch of individually quick frozen, cooked whole grain sorghum that’s now available for purchase at Harvest Food Group. The milestone is the latest innovation effort by USCP to ensure this nutrient-rich, versatile, and resource-efficient grain meets growing demand for convenient, high-quality ingredients in food manufacturing, foodservice, and retail markets. “Riviana is proud to partner with the Sorghum Checkoff to launch Ready-to-Eat-grade IQF sorghum,” said Terry Stover of Riviana Food, Inc. “We’ve spent years perfecting the science of cooking and freezing both conventional and organic ingredients in a single, continuous process, and that expertise is what makes this new RTE-grade IQF sorghum an innovative and easy-to-use addition for restaurants and food manufacturers alike.” Lanier Debruzzi of the Sorghum Checkoff Program said, “This meets the needs of a food industry looking for nutritious, consistent, and ready-to-use grains.”
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Applications Open for Aflatoxin Research Grants
The National Corn Growers Association is calling for a new round of research grants to help farmers manage aflatoxin issues. Letters of intent from collaborators that don’t seek more than the $100,000 per year limit will be accepted by the Aflatoxin Mitigation Center of Excellence no later than Monday, December 1, 2025. The grants program offers research grants for projects focused on solving profit-robbing aflatoxin issues for farmers. Projects funded through the grant program for 2026 should focus on one of three priority research areas, including methodologies and technologies that prevent and—or defend against the presence of aflatoxin, in-field mitigation measures, or post-harvest strategies. While corn farmers in southern states experience aflatoxin challenges every year, these challenges may present themselves in any corn region of the U.S. when the crop comes under stress. The NCGA serves as the management structure to help leverage more dollars for solving aflatoxin issues.
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