January 28, 2026

China Turning to Brazil for Soybeans

China is ramping up its orders from Brazil to fill its soybean needs after it met the initial shipment volume from the U.S. as part of a trade truce with Washington. Over the past week, Bloomberg said Chinese importers have booked at least 25 cargoes of beans for loading mainly in March and April. “At the same time, state-owned companies in China have appeared to refrain from taking American cargoes,” Bloomberg said. “U.S. soybeans delivered to China on a cost-and-freight basis are at a steep premium over comparable beans from Brazil for February, so crushing them will likely incur heavy losses for processors.” Over the long term, the U.S. said China has committed to buying at least 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans annually through 2028, which means the nation may actually come back for more American cargoes later in 2026. 

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Clean Fuels Wants 45Z Rules Finalized

Clean Fuels Alliance America sent a letter to President Donald Trump highlighting the biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel industry’s contribution to U.S. energy security and rural prosperity. The President is embarking on visits across the country to highlight economic conditions. The letter emphasizes that the industry’s growth is at risk as farmers and fuel producers await regulatory rules, specifically the Renewable Fuel Standards for 2026 and 2027, and rules for the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit that were due under the prior administration. “Our industry has made substantial investments to meet America’s demand for energy security and rural economic prosperity,” CFA wrote. “Our progress is threatened by delays in policy decisions that should have been made in the previous administration, and we’re hopeful you will quickly finalize these policies and secure your promise as the most pro-biofuel president in history.” 

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Cooperatives Launch Major Low-Carbon Fertilizer Pilot Project

CF Industries Holdings, a manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products, and POET, the world’s largest producer of biofuels, have launched a pilot project to develop a low-carbon fertilizer supply chain. The project, which includes other major agricultural cooperatives, is designed to demonstrate how the use of low-carbon nitrogen fertilizer can substantially reduce the carbon intensity of corn and enable the production of low-carbon ethanol for use in motor fuels and exports. Participants will track the carbon intensity certification of the low-carbon fertilizer produced by CF Industries and sold from its distribution network through retail distribution channels and finally to corn growers across Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska for ethanol production. POET expects to use the corn grown with low-carbon ammonia to produce an estimated five-to-six-million gallons of ethanol with lower carbon intensity. “Collaborating on this pilot program was an immediate yes,” said Paul Barr of WinField Crop Nutrients. 

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FFA Members Travel to Spain for Observation

Over 70 FFA student members serving as state officers in their respective states started the new year by exploring the history, culture, and agricultural practices of Spain through the National FFA’s International Leadership Seminar for State Officers. The Seminar is an annual program designed to develop awareness of global agriculture and enhance the cultural competency of student members. The traveling state officers help lead more than one million members in over 9,200 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “During the trip, students had the opportunity to both demonstrate their knowledge and learn about diverse agriculture practices across the globe,” said Joe Martin, program specialist with the National FFA Organization. “These experiences overseas help state officers share the unique agriculture practices of Spain with members of their home state associations.” State officers on the trip came from Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, and multiple other states.  

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Texas Cattle Raisers Responded to Cell-Cultured Lawsuit

The Texas & Southwest Cattle Raisers Association President Carl Ray Polk, Jr., commented after a federal judge denied the State of Texas’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on cell-cultured protein. “We remain committed to preserving the reputation and integrity of Texas beef, a product our membership has spent generations perfecting,” said Polk, Jr. “Our association will not stand idly by while animal cells grown in a lab are fed to Texas consumers with no long-term health studies proving their safety.” He also said the same industries, individuals, and organizations that promote and finance this unsafe product are the first to oppose or mount legal challenges against laws that require them to disclose to consumers that their product is cell-cultured. He added that any industry that refuses transparency with consumers should not be considered innovative, but rather dishonest. 

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Administration Raising Tariffs on South Korea by 25 Percent

President Donald Trump said he is raising tariffs on South Korean imports by 25 percent. The BBC said Trump announced the move after accusing Seoul of not living up to the trade deal it reached with the U.S. in 2024. In a social media post, Trump said he’ll increase levies on South Korea from 15 percent across a range of products, including cars, lumber, and “all other reciprocal tariffs.” Trump said South Korean lawmakers have dragged their feet in approving the deal, while the U.S. government acted swiftly to reduce U.S. tariffs in line with the transaction agreed to between the countries. South Korea said it hadn’t received an official notice of the U.S. decision to raise duty fees on some of its goods, and asked Washington for urgent talks to rectify the issue. South Korea exported about $123 billion worth of goods to the U.S. last year, making it the second-largest export market after China. 

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