grain shipments

Mississippi River Grain Shipments Down 78 Percent

Dan Corn, Economy, Exports/Imports, This Land of Ours, USDA-AMS, Wheat

Drought continues to cause a major slowdown in shipping. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) says the number of grain barges being unloaded in New Orleans during September and October dropped significantly. An AMS report says the number of barges is 20-30 percent lower than in recent years. The slowdown coincides with …

beef

September Pork Exports Continue Upward Trend; Pace Cools for Beef

Dan Beef, Cattle, Exports/Imports, Marketing, Pork, Poultry, Sheep-Goats, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)

New data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) shows U.S. pork exports in September topped year-ago totals for the second consecutive month, while beef exports dipped below the $1 billion dollar mark but remain on a record pace. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom notes continued strong export numbers amid mounting headwinds such as a strong U.S. dollar show the …

rail strike

U.S. Railway Strike Looming

Dan Agri-Business, Exports/Imports, Labor and Immigration

Reports are saying a U.S. railway strike is imminent after the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen union voted last week against ratification of the National Tentative Agreement reached on September 15. Just over 60% of their voting members voted not to approve. The BRS negotiated this round of bargaining as a member of the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) and later the United Rail …

beef

August Pork Exports Trend Higher, Beef Exports Again Top $1 Billion

Dan Beef, Cattle, Exports/Imports, Pork, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)

U.S. beef exports once again topped the $1 billion in value. Data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) show August was slightly above last August’s large volume, thus reaching this milestone in seven out of the eight months this year. August exports of U.S. pork topped year-ago totals for the first time in 2022. U.S. Meat …

beef

USMEF Leadership Celebrates 45th Anniversary of Japan Office

Dan Beef, Cattle, Exports/Imports, Marketing, Trade, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)

Leaders of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) traveled to Tokyo last week to mark the 45th anniversary of the USMEF Japan office. They met with meat industry leaders, hosted a meat recipe session for Japanese cooking teachers and social media influencers, visited displays of U.S. meat in grocery stores and held an anniversary seminar for 200 of the country’s meat industry representatives. …

florida

Florida Ag Commissioner Calls on USTR to Take Action Protecting Florida Farmers from Harm of Decades-long Unfair Foreign Trade Practices

Dan Exports/Imports, Florida, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Trade

(FDACS/Tallahassee, FL/Sept. 15, 2022) — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried wrote to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai in support of the September 8th petition filed by members of Florida’s bipartisan delegation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 requesting the administration conduct an investigation into the flood of imported seasonal and perishable agricultural products from Mexico. Commissioner Fried shared with Ambassador Tai a recent report from the Florida Department of Agriculture …

lawmakers

Lawmakers Ask USTR To Protect Growers from Unfair Practices by Mexico

Dan Exports/Imports, Field Crops, Labor and Immigration, Legislative, Specialty Crops, Trade

Lawmakers led by Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently asked U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to investigate the flood of surplus agricultural products from Mexico. The request, filed as a petition under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, says actions by Mexico over the last two decades have burdened and restricted U.S. commerce. The lawmakers say that for …