WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States intends to commence negotiations with Canada and Mexico regarding modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the United States’ specific objectives for this negotiation will comply with those set forth by Congress in section 102 of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. The USTR is seeking public comments on matters relevant to the modernization of NAFTA in order to inform development of U.S. negotiating positions.

Those who wish to testify at the June 27 hearing in Washington, D.C., must provide written notification and a summary of testimony by June 12. Written comments also are due by June 12. The hearing will be at 9 a.m. in the Main Hearing Room of the United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20436.

Visit www.regulations.gov/document?D=USTR_FRDOC_0001-0413 online to learn more about submitting comments and read background on this issue. For alternatives to online submissions or procedural questions about commenting, call Yvonne Jamison, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at 202-395-3475.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) — Authorities in northern Ohio said the pilot of a small plane that crashed in a field has died.

The plane went down Thursday just south of Bowling Green, which is about 24 miles south of Toledo. The Wood County sheriff’s office identified the pilot as Gary Conklin of the Bowling Green area. Investigators don’t believe anyone else was on board.

The sheriff’s office said Conklin was several miles from his farm, where he had a landing strip for his plane. A man who lives near the crash site said the plane was at a steep angle just before it went down. Randy Sheeks told The (Bowling Green) Sentinel-Tribune the plane sounded like a crop duster when it revs its engine.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Surface Transportation Board (STB) late last week told Great Lakes Basin Transportation, Inc. (GLBT) that its application to create a new Midwest freight-rail line is incomplete, according to Progressive Railroading.

In a decision issued June 2, the board said GLBT’s application is deficient in certain areas and gave the company until June 22 to provide more information. GLBT filed on May 1 its application for STB approval of the company’s proposal to operate a 261-mile freightrail line that would extend around Chicago and pass through several counties in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. Supplemental information GLBT needs to provide to the STB includes a more complete list of the counties and cities that the new rail line would serve.

Also in its decision, the STB suspended deadlines for comments and replies on the transportation merits of the application; granted with modifications a motion for protective order filed by GLBT; rejected GLBT’s designation of its list of principal stockholders and their respective holdings as “highly confidential;” addressed a request for an extension of time; and clarified service requirements in the GLBT proceeding before the board.

CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) — Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is planning to close a Chicago wheat mill and move operations to a new facility it will construct near Mendota. ADM on Friday announced the Mendota mill will open in 2019. It will be constructed next to an existing grain facility, about 90 miles west of Chicago in LaSalle County. The mill that will be closed was built in 1897. ADM purchased it from Dixie Portland Flour Mills in 1990 for about $14 million.

The mill is located in Chicago’s meatpacking district, west of the Loop business district. The area has been taken over in recent years by trendy restaurants, bars and office buildings. ADM spokeswoman Jackie Anderson said the 250,000 square-foot facility sits on a two acre site the Chicago-based company plans to sell.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan apple grower who posted on Facebook that he wouldn’t allow gay couples to get married at his farm filed a lawsuit against the city of East Lansing after he was shut out of an outdoor farmers’ market.

 

The city said Stephen Tennes wasn’t invited back to the market because vendors must follow its civil rights ordinance, which bars discrimination. Tennes alleges the city’s actions violate his rights to free speech and religion.

 

Tennes’ farm, 22 miles from East Lansing in Eaton  County, is a popular place to have weddings. In a Facebook post in December, he said he believes in heterosexual marriage and reserves the right to reject weddings that conflict with his beliefs.

“If the government can shut down a family farmer just because of the religious views he expresses on Facebook ... then no American is free,” said Tennes’ attorney, Kate Anderson.

East Lansing said in a statement that the farm is violating the city’s “longstanding ordinance that protects sexual orientation” and can’t sell fruit at the market. Tennes filed a lawsuit in federal court with help from Washington-based Alliance Defending Freedom, which specializes in religious liberty cases. He wants a judge to order East Lansing to allow him back at the market and to also stop the city from extending policies to businesses outside the city.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — P&S Bakery, Inc., a Poland,

Ohio, establishment, is recalling approximately 2,959 pounds of pepperoni product that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically clear meat casing utilized in food production, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. The frozen, ready-to-eat beef and pork pepperoni roll item was produced on March 29. It is a 5.25-ounce clear plastic wrapped package containing 1 piece of Gia Russa brand “DOUBLE STUFFED Pepperoni Roll PEPPERONI & MOZZARELLA,” with lot/case code 17088.

The product subject to recall bears establishment number “EST. 27274” inside the USDA mark of inspection. This item was shipped to distributors and retail locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The problem was discovered after the firm received consumer complaints through one of its distributors. FSIS has received no reports of injury or illness from consumption of these products. Consumers who have purchased this product are urged to return it to the place of purchase. Consumers with questions about the recall can contact John Houser, quality assurance manager, at 330-707-4141.

AVON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana’s newest state historical marker will honor a Civil War veteran who pioneered the planting of soybeans in the state.

 

The Indiana Historical Bureau will dedicate a marker June 10 in Avon, just west of Indianapolis, celebrating Adrian A. Parsons’ contributions to Indiana’s agricultural and economic history. Parsons began planting soybeans in the 1890s, decades before the crop native to Asia became known to most American farmers. He became an early advocate of soybeans, which are now one of Indiana’s top crops. The American Soybean Assoc. recognized Parsons in 1928 as “the pioneer of all soybean growers in Indiana.”

When Parsons died in 1929, Indiana farmers planted 326,000 acres of soybeans. A decade later, they planted more than 1.3 million acres, ranking Indiana second in the nation in soybean production.