Soybean planted acreage topped corn for the first time since 1983, the USDA reported in its Planted Acreage Report on Friday. Soybean acreage is 89.6 million acres. That’s actually 1 percent lower than last year as planted acres are either down or unchanged in 14 of the 31 biggest soybean states. Corn acres are also down 1 percent from last …
NCBA Responds to Canada Tariff Hikes on U.S. Beef Imports
Canada has announced it will place higher tariffs on U.S. beef imports starting on Sunday, July 1. Kent Bacus is the NCBA Director of International Trade and Market Access, and he says Canada has finally followed through on actions it’s been threatening for months. “Canada has followed through on a threat to slap a tariff on $170 million worth of …
International Lawsuit Targets Heart of Trump Tariffs
A lawsuit filed at the Court of International Trade targets the heart of President Trump’s trade agenda, the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. An industry group that represents steel importers and traders will also challenge the constitutionality of the law that gave the president the power to enact the tariffs. The American Institute for International Steel filed the lawsuit, …
CDC Retracts Farmer Suicide Rate Findings
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a week ago confirmed its widely cited research on farmer suicides was wrong. The research from 2016 reported that farmers have the highest suicide rate in the country. That report found that workers in the “farming, fishing, and forestry,” job category held a suicide rate over four times the national average, far and …
Senate Passes Farm Bill, Next Stop: Conference
The Senate passed a bipartisan farm bill Thursday, sending the legislation to conference so the House and Senate can mend their differences. The vote, 86 to 11, capped off a day of consideration on the Senate floor. In a way, the Senate offered a warning shot to the House, tabling an amendment Thursday afternoon that would tighten work requirements under …
Women in Agribusiness Now Accepting Award Nominees
The Women in Agribusiness Summit is seeking award nominations for the Women in Agribusiness Demeter Award of Excellence. Now in its fifth year, the award is bestowed upon “some of the most innovative, action-oriented movers and shakers in the agribusiness sector.” Nominations must have a minimum of ten years of experience in agriculture, be a positive example and break down …
NC Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Protect Hog Farms from Lawsuits
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that would provide protection to hog farms from lawsuits. The bill passed by state lawmakers aimed to protect the ability of farms to “operate as surrounding development encroaches” and protect farms from” frivolous nuisance lawsuits.” Governor Cooper stated following his veto: “While agriculture is vital to North Carolina’s economy, so property …
Oil Industry: EPA Makes Right Call on Not Reallocating Waived Volumes
The American Petroleum Institute says the Environmental Protection Agency “made the right call” to not reallocate volumes of biofuels displaced by hardship waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard. The EPA volume proposal this week included a small overall increase, but kept conventional ethanol at 15 billion gallons for 2019. API made the comments while at the same time calling the …
Canada Announces Pork Sector Investment
Amid global trade uncertainty and U.S. pork facing tariffs, Canada is investing to expand its swine sector. While the two moves are not directly related, Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay just announced a federal investment of up to (Canadian) $12.7 million to Swine Innovation Porc, a non-profit corporation that facilitates research in the Canadian swine sector. The non-profit …
Perdue Signals Aid Plan Announcement Possible Around Labor Day
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in Chicago this week says he is hopeful his aid program for farmers will be released by Labor Day and the harvest season. Perdue spoke at the United Fresh event Tuesday and told the Chicago Tribune that while farmers want “trade, not aid,” the Department of Agriculture is following the trade war on a “weekly basis,” …