U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Acting Administrator Steve Peterson reminded eligible farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers that they must return county committee election ballots to their local FSA office by Dec. 4, 2017, to ensure that their votes are counted. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Dec. 4, 2017. Producers who …
Operation Main Street Builds Trust With Consumers
Operation Main Street is the Pork Checkoff’s outreach program that tells the positive story of pork production. Through this program, volunteers speak to a variety of audiences, telling the pork industry’s story of innovation, quality and stewardship. Welcome, Minnesota pig farmer Wanda Patsche says these are important opportunities. Patsche is on the Minnesota Pork Board. She encourages other farmers to …
Florida SBDC Network Extends Deadline for Agribusiness Export Marketing Plan Service
The Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, the state’s principal provider of small business assistance, has extended the deadline for a pilot program to help farmers and producers maximize their growth potential through export sales. The Agribusiness Export Marketing Plan provides qualified recipients with a customized export marketing plan. Designed to assist new-to-export and currently exporting growers and value-added …
John Deere Sales and Income Numbers Climb
Improving farm and construction equipment markets contributed to higher sales and income numbers for the fourth quarter and full year for John Deere. The company’s performance benefitted from advanced products and a flexible cost structure. John Deere’s 2018 income forecast calls for a net income of $2.8 billion. Net income for Deere and Company was just over $510 million, or …
H-2A Minimum Wage for Guest Workers Likely to Rise in Several States
The minimum wage for H-2A guest workers is likely to rise in several states during 2018. The National Ag Statistics Service (NASS) surveys the prevailing wages of field and livestock workers in different regions across the country. The NASS calculations are normally adopted by the U.S. Department of Labor in December as the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for the …
South Korea Minister Says No Concessions in Farm-Sector KORUS Discussions
The South Korean trade minister says his country will not take a step backward in the upcoming discussions on updating the South Korean – U.S. free trade deal, known as KORUS. The Korean Herald Dot Com says he told reporters that the government is taking a “strong stand on the agriculture sector and will not retreat any further.” This was …
Grassley, Ag State Senators Maintain Push for NAFTA
Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley remains optimistic that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations will come to a conclusion that benefits agriculture. The Gazette Dot Com said Grassley’s optimism remains in spite of the hard-line taken by the Trump administration in the negotiations. Grassley and other ag-state senators have been continually pushing for the trilateral agreement to continue. …
Some Corn Belt Farmland Values are Stabilizing
Although it’s not region-wide, there are some signs that farmland values in the Corn Belt have begun to stabilize. A Top Producer report says Iowa farmland values rose two percent in the six months prior to September. Those same values are also three percent higher than at the same time last year. The Iowa Chapter of Realtors Land institute survey …
EPA Maintains RFS Point of Obligation Requirement
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided Wednesday to maintain the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) Point of Obligation. A Farm Futures Dot Com report notes that EPA administrator Scott Pruitt followed through on a promise to a group of Midwest senators that he would deny a petition from oil refiners to change the point of obligation. He followed through on Wednesday …
Perdue Announces Soybean Board Appointments
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today announced the appointment of 19 members and 3 alternate members to serve on the United Soybean Board. The producers appointed to serve three year terms include: Annie Dee, Aliceville, Ala. Robert Stobaugh, Atkins, Ark. Gary Berg, Saint Elmo, Ill. Tom Griffiths, Kendallville, Ind. Thomas E. Oswald, Cleghorn, Iowa Larry K. Marek, Riverside, Iowa Dennis Gruenbacher, …