Pause in USDA Relocations and Chinese Soybean Purchases Surge
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**A federal judge in California has extended a temporary pause on USDA employee relocations while considering whether to block the moves indefinitely.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria (CHUB-ree-uh) extended the administrative stay through October 13.
The pause affects deadlines for USDA employees who received orders to relocate as part of the department’s reorganization.
The USDA plan calls for relocating about 2,600 employees currently based in the Washington, D.C., area to hubs around the country.
**The National Farmers Union is opposing the proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads.
NFU President Rob Larew says decades of railroad mergers have left farmers with fewer options, higher rates, and less reliable service.
He called on the Surface Transportation Board to prioritize rail competition as it reviews the proposed merger.
STB says the transaction would combine the rail systems into a single network covering about 50,000 miles across 43 states.
**Chinese purchases helped drive a sharp increase in U.S. soybean export sales during the latest reporting week, providing support for producers as the fall harvest moves forward.
The USDA reported net soybean sales of 1.03 million metric tons for the week ending Sept. 24, up 78% from the previous week.
China was the largest buyer at 589,400 metric tons, accounting for more than half of weekly sales.
