FTC Nominee Pledges to Look Closely at Ag Mergers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would take a look at past merger deals to see if regulators were too easy on the companies involved. That’s the promise of Joseph Simons, the White House nominee for FTC Chairman. Simons said during a Senate confirmation hearing, he would direct a formal study of closed deals, including some in the agriculture industry. He …

MN Students Want GMO Approval Process Streamlined

A group of graduate students at the University of Minnesota is asking Congress to streamline the approval process for GMO crops that produce food and fiber. A DTN article says the seven students are doing graduate work at the Minnesota College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences. They believe the regulatory hoops that companies need to jump through to …

Legislation Designed to Save Pollinators Introduced in House

Representatives Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts introduced the Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The legislation is designed to protect the health of honey bees and other critical pollinators. Estimates are that the U.S. lost one-third of honeybee colonies between 2016 and 2017, with similar losses occurring in previous years. To help bring a halt to the trend, …

Immigration Debate in Congress Still Struggling

The Senate’s immigration debate ended on Thursday with no deal. Neither a bipartisan plan nor President Trump’s proposal had the required number of votes to pass. Every proposal considered couldn’t reach the 60-vote threshold. That leaves the undocumented immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in limbo and lawmakers unsure of what’s next in the debate. In the …

Trump to Sit Down with Mexican President

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations will be just one of the topics President Trump will discuss with the President of Mexico when they meet in the next few weeks. Bloomberg says they plan to discuss the relationship between the two countries and several pending issues. The meeting comes after several months of sometimes contentious NAFTA discussions and …

Agri View: Oldest Fruit in the World

Everett Griner talks about what the oldest fruit is, and gives a bit of history about this widely grown plant in today’s Agri View. Oldest Fruit in the World Tell me now. What is the oldest fruit in the world? Its history goes back to 500 B.C. OK, banana, no. Coconut, no. It’s a tomato. That is a vegetable. No …

Weekly Livestock Market Report

Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama and Georgia, for the week ended February 16, 2018, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for both states.   AL Livestock Market Report: AL Livestock Market Report At Alabama Livestock Auctions for the Week ended-February 16, 2018 receipts at 21 markets totaled an estimated 7,500 head compared to 9,313 last …

Florida Woman of the Year in Agriculture Recognized

This week, during the Florida State Fair in Tampa, Dr. Martha Rhodes Roberts was recognized as the Woman of the Year in Agriculture. This yearly award recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions to Florida agriculture. Roberts told Southeast AgNet that she was honored to receive this award. Florida Woman of the Year in Agriculture Recognized Since 1985, women who …