Perdue Hosting Mexico, Canada Counterparts in Georgia

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Tuesday is playing host to his counterparts from Mexico and Canada in Perdue’s home state. Canada’s Trade Minister and Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture will join Perdue for a tour of the Georgia Ports Authority and a farm tour. The trilateral meeting is the first time the three will hold meetings since President Donald Trump triggered renegotiation …

White House Names Ag Trade Negotiator Nominee

President Donald Trump is nominating a former Senate Agriculture Committee aide and agriculture industry economist as the chief agricultural negotiator from the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office. The White House confirmed Gregg Doud as the nominee. Doud is currently the president of the Commodity Markets Council, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association. He worked for the Senate Agriculture Committee between 2011 and …

New Zealand, U.S. Bilateral Trade Talks Far Off

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English says bilateral trade talks between New Zealand and the U.S. are not likely anytime soon. His comments follow meetings between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay last week. English says that given how the U.S. has framed trade policy as largely benefiting the U.S., that it “would be …

U.S. Exports to Mexico Stumble

As the Unites States plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico have declined over the first few months of 2017. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mexican imports of U.S. soybean meal dropped 15 percent, the first decline in four years. Meanwhile, chicken exports to Mexico were down 11 …

APHIS to Allow Importation of Fresh Pitahaya Fruit from Ecuador

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending the fruits and vegetable regulations to allow the importation of fresh pitahaya fruit into the continental United States from Ecuador.  APHIS scientists have determined that fresh pitahaya fruit from Ecuador can be safely imported to the United States while continuing to provide protection against the …

If It Smells Like a Petunias or Shampoo, It Might Be a Pesticide

USDA Agricultural Research Service A scent that petunias and snapdragons release to attract pollinators may be an environmentally friendly control for pests like the spotted wing drosophila fly (SWD) and the brown marmorated stink bug. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Aijun Zhang discovered the fragrant chemical methyl benzoate, which is also a popular ingredient approved by the U.S. Food and …

USDA Announces $20 Million for Jobs for Young People, Veterans

USDA and partners committed $20 million in 21st Century Conservation Service Corps partnership agreements to provide 4,000 work opportunities for youth, young adults and veterans up to 35 years old, a move that will help the U.S. Forest Service accomplish mission-critical infrastructure and landscape restoration projects on the ground. The U.S. Forest Service is one of seventeen USDA Agencies. The …

Appeals Court Rejects Caloosahatchee Water Case

by Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida A federal appeals court Monday rejected a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ management of water flowing from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River caused pollution problems in the Southwest Florida waterway. A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court — in a case described in one document as a …

New Forecast Tools for Tropical Storm Preparations

With all eyes on the tropics this week, information is out concerning new storm surge and wind forecast models. According to a story from Rod Bain, these new models should increase emergency preparedness for those potentially in the path of a tropical storm or hurricane. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2026FL Cattle Enhancement Board Wraps up Funding YearJune 30, …