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USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins is facing pressure from some ranchers and beef producers to open the southern border with Mexico now that screwworm cases have appeared in the U.S., warning that its prolonged closure is undermining the domestic cattle industry, Politico reported Thursday.
“The decisions being made in D.C. are not in the best interest of the people,” Trent Loos, a Nebraska rancher and radio host, told Politico. “They have lost touch with what the people need. The people need an adequate supply of reasonably priced food, and this USDA is not doing it.” The report noted Rollins has defended her decision to close the border as part of an effort to keep the screwworm at bay, while acknowledging last month that it presented “a significant economic challenge to various sectors of our industries in Texas.”
Politico, citing two people with knowledge of the conversations, said Rollins has resisted recommendations by some USDA officials to reopen the border. “Secretary Rollins closed the ports last year not only to keep the [screwworm] out for as long as possible, but also to leverage the opportunity for an unprecedented partnership with Mexico and all other key American government and private sector partners,” USDA spokesperson Michael Abboud said in a statement to Politico. Abboud added that Rollins is “very pleased with the progress to date” on screwworm prevention and credited the border closure with helping stave off the pest, which Rollins has said was otherwise expected to arrive in the U.S. by summer of 2025.
Correcting June tractor sales: In a Wednesday item on June tractor sales, Evening Report incorrectly cited year-to-date numbers instead of the monthly figures. The corrected data are below. Apologies for the error.
Total U.S. farm tractor sales in June were seen at 18,186, down 18.4% from the same month last year, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Producers bought 269 self-propelled combines last month, up 3.9% from June 2025. Two-wheel drive tractors were down 18.3%, while 4-wheel drive tractor sales were down 30.3%.
Lula, Brazil and the dollar: A new poll released Wednesday showed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva widening his lead over right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in the run-up to October’s presidential election. Barring a change in direction, growing expectations for a Lula victory are likely to put pressure on the Brazilian real versus the U.S. dollar, said Thierry Wizman, FX and rates strategist at Macquarie, in a note.
- “We continue to think that BRL (Brazilian real) bulls will be disappointed by a Lula victory,” he wrote. “Our year-end target is 5.30 for USD/BRL.” In other words, he expects the exchange rate to go from one dollar buying 5.08 reais to one dollar buying 5.30.
A stronger dollar can be a headwind for commodities priced in the unit, making them more expensive to users of other currencies. A stronger or weaker dollar relative to the real is particularly important to watch given Brazil’s status as the top U.S. competitor to U.S. corn and soybean exports. The real would be weakening even more if it weren’t for Brazil’s very high interest rates, which are likely to see only one more cut of 25 basis points – to 14% – between now and the election, Wizman said.
RFA says Brazil tariffs a boon to U.S. ethanol: A 25% tariff on Brazilian imports into the U.S. could support the U.S. ethanol industry, the Renewable Fuels Association said Thursday. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday said the U.S. would launch new tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, citing what Washington sees as unfair practices including illegal deforestation and Brazil’s instant payment system.
“We applaud the action being taken by USTR and strongly support the Trump Administration’s efforts to level the playing field for U.S. ethanol producers and farmers,” said Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper, in a news release. “Over the past several years, Brazil has gone out of its way to block lower-cost U.S. ethanol through a complicated framework of tariffs and marketplace barriers. After Brazil rebuffed numerous attempts by the U.S. to negotiate a return to free and fair ethanol trade between our two nations, our leaders were left with no choice but to establish reciprocal treatment. It is our sincere hope that this action will motivate Brazil to come back to the negotiating table for good-faith discussions on improving ethanol trade between our two countries.”
Heavier Argentine cattle: Higher global beef prices and new trade deals under President Javier Milei give Argentina’s ranchers an incentive to raise heavier cattle as they bet on a sustained export boom that could reshape the country’s meat industry, Reuters reported. As a result, one analyst expects from Argentina, which leads the world in per-capita beef consumption, to rise as much as 50% over the next four years. The report notes that a break from a longstanding model focused heavily on domestic consumption. The shift is a response to stronger overseas demand from several markets, including the U.S., Israel, Europe and China as well as from new trade opportunities created by new trade agreements with the U.S. and European Union.
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