On June 13, the EPA released a new Renewable Fuel Standard proposal that mandates a 2B+ gallon jump in renewable diesel production to 5.61B gallons in 2026. Additionally, the EPA slashed the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) on imported biofuel feedstocks (like used cooking oil from China) by 50%.

Today is the day. On April 14, the International Trade Administration (division of the U.S. Department of Commerce) announced the U.S. would exit the 1996 Tomato Suspension Agreement with Mexico in 90 days (on July 14) if a new agreement was not reached.

Grilling season lit a fire under beef prices, burgers in particular. Lean beef trimmings (90s) prices moved above $4 per pound for the first time ever on June 26 and closed at $4.11 on July 3, 9.3% above a year ago.

In last week’s quarterly report, the USDA said that U.S. inventories of hogs and pigs on June 1st (at 75.1M head) were up 1.7% from last quarter (Mar 1st) and 0.3% above a year ago. Market-hog numbers were also up slightly (0.4%) from a year ago and the breeding herd was 0.5% lower.