Congress returns from a two-week break with the deepening impeachment battle clouding prospects for budget and tax issues important to U.S. .agriculture, and there is continued uncertainty about when lawmakers will take up the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. (Agri-Pulse)

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) Friday announced additional dicamba label restrictions for the 2020 growing season. Illinois Agriculture Director John Sullivan determined IDOA will forward registration requests to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Illinois specific labels for use of dicamba on soybeans in 2020. Additional provisions are listed on FarmWeekNow.

Harvest season is always hectic, but late spring planting this year will mean an especially busy time for farmers over the next few weeks. The Illinois Department of Labor urges farmers not to forsake safety as they race to bring in the 2019 crop. Vehicle safety is an especially important focus this time of year. Tractor overturns are the leading cause of fatalities in the agriculture industry. Roadways also pose a major safety hazard. Impatience and speed are a deadly combination on rural roads this time of year. (IDOL)

– China wants to hold more talks this month to hammer out the details of the “phase one” trade deal touted by Donald Trump before Xi Jinping agrees to sign it, according to people familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg)

– U.S. President Donald Trump called his Phase 1 trade deal with China “by far, the greatest and biggest deal ever made,” even though nothing was agreed on paper, and most of the tariffs set upon Chinese goods remain in place. While he lauded China for agreeing to buy as much as $50 billion in agricultural products, he left tariffs in place on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese products, raising concerns that tariffs will become the “new normal.” (Reuters)  

President Trump on Friday announced what he calls “phase one” of a larger trade deal with China. As part of the deal, a tariff increase planned for next Tuesday will not be imposed. The U.S. was scheduled to raise tariffs on about $250 billion worth of goods on October 15 from 25% to 30%. The specifics of the deal are still being hammered out, and they haven’t been signed yet. (NPR)