Current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations are a lot like a Sumo wrestling match, according to Ted McKinney, under secretary of trade and foreign agricultural affairs for the Agriculture Department. He said there is an extraordinary amount of posturing in the circle, but he is hopeful that the United States, Canada and Mexico will meet in the middle …
Ag Law Experts Review Top Legal Issues Affecting Farmers
Court decisions and changes in the law can have significant impacts on farm and ranch businesses, according to two agricultural law experts who presented at a workshop at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2018 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show. Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, assistant professor and Extension specialist in agricultural law with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, and Paul Goeringer, Extension …
Cargill, Hershey, Leave Grocery Manufacturers Association
Ag giant Cargill, along with the Hershey Company, are the latest to drop out of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, joining at least eight other major companies in retreat. The two join Tyson Foods, Campbell Soup Company and others who have recently left Washington, D.C.’s largest food industry association. Politico reports many of the companies that have left are viewed as …
Organic Milk Sales Lower
Organic milk sales are dropping, but sales of so-called plant-based milk are rising. The Wall Street Journal reports organic milk sales fell 2.5 percent in 2017, slightly less than traditional white milk that fell 4.5 percent. Plant-based milks rose 2.9 percent in sales. However, the largest gains in milk sales were seen by specialty milk which would include products like …
Thatcher Retiring from AFBF
Long-serving public policy specialist Mary Kay Thatcher will retire from the American Farm Bureau Federation at the end of the month. In an email to AFBF staff, Dale Moore, the organization’s executive director for public policy, said: “It is tough to inform you that Mary Kay Thatcher has announced her retirement from AFBF,” according to the Hagstrom Report. Her last …
Roberts: Trump Listening to Senate NAFTA Concerns
Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts says President Donald Trump “really listened to our concerns” regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). During a meeting between lawmakers and the President last week, Roberts says he “delivered the message that farmers and ranchers need to grow export markets and maintain our status as a reliable supplier.” A White House statement mentioned …
Disaster Assistance Will Set the Stage for Next Farm Bill
Passing a disaster assistance bill for agriculture will set the stage for the next farm bill, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) told workshop attendees at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2018 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show. Ideally, lawmakers will address contentious issues related to cotton and dairy programs in the disaster bill and “get them out of the way” before …
Canadian Minister of Agriculture: Trade – NAFTA/Essential to Prosperity
Trade relationships are the foundation for creating economic prosperity between nations, the Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said at the opening session of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2018 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show in Nashville. MacAulay, who is the first Canadian agriculture minister to speak to Farm Bureau members at an annual convention, said …
Farm Bureau’s Duvall Praises ‘Fresh Air’ in D.C.
Calls for Better Immigration, Trade, Farm Bill American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall called on farmers and ranchers to redouble their efforts to advocate for agriculture, even as the current administration has begun moving to undo some of the regulations that have burdened them for years. “We have had a seat at the table with the Trump administration,” Duvall …
Supreme Court Ready to Wade Into Water War
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in a decades-old legal fight between Florida and Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River. A court-appointed special master ruled in February that Florida had not proved its case that a water-usage cap should be imposed on Georgia to help the river and Apalachicola Bay, one of the most productive …