by Brandon Larrabee The News Service of Florida Lawmakers closed in on an elusive budget deal Wednesday, even as Gov. Rick Scott ramped up criticism of the spending plan as he toured the state. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, announced Wednesday morning that the two chambers have agreed in principle on how …
Response to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s paper on Clean Fuel Standard
Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) joined the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) in submitting comments in response to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Discussion Paper on a Federal Clean Fuel Standard (CFS). Representatives of the three organizations just completed a visit to Canada to discuss that country’s newest environmental initiative with regulators and industry and share details …
UF Faculty Help Keep Palm Trees Part of Florida’s Fabric
by Brad Buck University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences When you come to Florida, you anticipate seeing palm trees. They’re part of the Florida landscape – whether they’re native or imported. They also bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in sales alone, so Monica Elliott has worked for more than 30 years to make …
NMPF, USDEC Organize Dairy Fly-In on Capitol Hill to Build Support for Trade with Canada, Mexico
U.S. dairy leaders from across the country visited Washington, D.C., this week to urge Congress and Trump Administration officials to hold Canada accountable for its trade violations and hasten the repeal of Canada’s controversial new dairy pricing system. During a fly-in rally organized Tuesday and Wednesday by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), …
NM Attorney Launches Probe of U.S. Beef Processors
New Mexico’s Attorney General is launching a probe into the business practices of some of the nation’s largest beef processors. He contends the state’s ranchers and cattle farmers are being “harmed by out-of-state corporations.” The Attorney General, Hector Balderas, says he’s concerned about the “unfair and anti-competitive practices” of companies like Cargill, JBS, Tyson Foods, and the National Beef Packing …
Rabobank Finds Pork Export Market Projections Favorable
Looking ahead to the second and third quarter of 2017, Rabobank says pork export projections look favorable for the industry. Rabobank Research Food and Agribusiness analysts find that a stable market is ahead into the third quarter as increased U.S. pork production is being absorbed into Asian export markets. The report on National Hog Farmer Dot Com says the industry …
Commerce Department to End Mexican Sugar Dumping
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced it intends to end the antidumping and countervailing duty suspension agreements in place with Mexico over what it calls that country’s unfair trading practices. The department will impose duties on Mexican sugar imports beginning on June 5, unless the two countries can come to an agreement. Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the American Sugar …
Dow/DuPont Merger Gets Conditional China Approval
Dow and DuPont announced this week they’ve been given conditional regulatory merger approval the Ministry of Commerce of China. The approval is conditionally based on the companies fulfilling commitments that were given to the Ministry regarding the deal. The conditions for approval are similar to commitments the companies already made to get approval from the European Union Commission. For example, …
Minnesota Court Delays Syngenta Lawsuit Hearing
The Associated Press reports that the first of literally tens of thousands of lawsuits against Syngenta has been delayed until July. The suits accuse the Swiss agribusiness company of introducing a genetically engineered corn variety before China had approved it for imports, thereby causing farmers economic harm. The case was supposed to go to trial last week in a Minnesota …
Renewal Sign-up Deadline for Expiring CSP Contracts is Friday
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wants to remind landowners with existing Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts that expire on December 31, the contract renewal sign-up deadline is this Friday, May 5. And even if you are not involved in CSP, NRCS Acting Chief Leonard Jordan, says they made several updates to the program last fall to help producers better evaluate …