What We're Watching in Food & Ag - Week of September 14

President Donald Trump is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24 for a state dinner and trade talks that U.S. agriculture leaders are treating as one of the most consequential meetings of the year. According to Bloomberg, U.S. and Chinese negotiators are discussing slashing tariffs on American energy and agricultural shipments – a potential sign the summit will extend the one-year trade truce reached in October 2025. 

• Highlighting how central agriculture is expected to be to the talks, representatives from Chinese state-owned food trading firm Cofco may join President Xi’s delegation. 

• Additionally, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said to expect “announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers related to agriculture to incentivize American sales into China,” per Reuters. 

• While appreciative of the purchases, the American Soybean Association (ASA) noted in a letter to President Trump that China still maintains a 10% retaliatory tariff on U.S. soybeans that does not apply to Brazilian competitors and call for its elimination. 

• This is a bipartisan issue. Congressman Don Davis (D-NC), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, also penned a letterto the President, urging him to secure a timeline for China's fulfillment of its annual purchase commitments, noting that Brazil sent record volumes of soybeans to China between June to August 2026.

• Agriculture Committee leaders on Capitol Hill are closely watching as well, with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) telling The Hagstrom Report that he still expects Congress to provide more economic aid to farmers.

For soybean growers heading into harvest, the stakes could not be higher. China bought roughly 1 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans last week ahead of President Xi’s Washington visit, reports Semafor. Beijing has now purchased nearly 13 million metric tons for the current season, more than half of the 25 million metric ton annual target Washington says Beijing has committed to through 2028, notes Bloomberg.

Sorghum growers are watching with equal urgency. The U.S. has historically been the largest exporter of sorghum destined for China. However, Brazil launched its first large-scale commercial sorghum shipments to China in August, following agreements signed between Brazil and China in 2024, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. 

As the Trump Administration holds its cards close to its chest ahead of the summit, it is also delaying announcing new tariffs on China and others, reports Bloomberg.

Driscoll’s Gave China Its Blueberries—Then China Swiped the Secret to Growing Them

The Wall Street Journal

Global customers crave texture, challenging companies to make crispier, gooier, chewier foods

Associated Press

Corteva CEO Makes a Case for Crop Chemicals in the Age of MAHA

Bloomberg

New York has a food waste problem. South Korea has already solved it

BBC

For Food Companies, Shifts From GLP-1 Use Are Hard to Digest

The New York Times

On September 16, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its farm bill reauthorization in a 12-11 party-line vote. The markup, stalled since August, finally proceeded thanks to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) return to cast the deciding vote as Democrats remained united in opposition over SNAP cost-share provisions, per The Hill. With under 30 legislative days left, the bill lacks the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate floor and the current farm bill extension expires September 30. To prevent a lapse, Congress will likely attach another short-term extension to an end-of-year funding package.

Dynamics we are watching:

• Do Senate Democrats stay united? Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to move the bill to a final floor vote. Democrats have held the line thus far, but the math could shift now that the bill is out of committee and voters are heading to the polls.

• Can the chambers bridge the policy gap? If the Senate bill does advance, there are significant differences to resolve with the House version. These include provisions related to mandatory country-of-origin labeling for meat and the preemption of California’s Prop 12.

• How do the midterms impact the lame-duck session? Changes in congressional power dynamics can force rapid compromises. If Republicans are poised to lose control of one or both chambers, and Democrats want to wrap up the Farm Bill to focus on other priorities next year, a post-election deal could materialize.

Experience leads brand awareness, from nostalgia driven bevvies to supersized feats to living like a cow on an organic farm?

• Capri Sun will release a limited, refillable 24-fluid-ounce pouch that measures just over nine inches tall, over six inches wide and can hold three times the juice of the smaller pouches. According to USA Today, a Capri Sun Big Pouch has been "fans’ No. 1 request" for some time. 

• UPI reports that a Slim Jim measuring 429 feet and 5.4 inches long in Nebraska broke the Guinness World Record for the longest meat snack – measuring over a hundred feet longer than the previous record holder. Per the creators, the recipe and flavor were the same as standard-sized Slim Jim. 

• To help consumers better understand organic farming, Stoneyfield Organic is bringing its “Organic Cow Spa” to a farm in Maine this fall, per Boston.com. The experience is inspired by the company’s cow care regimen. During a visit, guests can choose from activities ranging from cow cuddles to an aromatherapy scalp massage modeled after the peppermint essential oils used to groom some of the cows.

We’ve reached peak pistachio, per USDA’s Economic Research Service.

• U.S. pistachio production reached 1.58 billion pounds — the largest in history and nearly eight times the 200 million pounds produced in 2000.

• Bearing acreage has expanded nearly fivefold over the past two decades, underpinning the sustained rise in production.

• Per capita pistachio availability now exceeds walnuts and pecans for the first time, 

• The U.S. has led the world in pistachio exports for ten straight years, with roughly half of domestic supply shipped abroad each season.