A South Korea trade lawyer believes changes to agricultural trade will top the list of changes requested in KORUS, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. During a meeting last week between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and South Korea trade officials, the two nations agreed to open KORUS to renegotiation. The U.S. proposed revisions to language in KORUS regarding industrial goods, …
House Agriculture Working on 2018 Farm Bill
The House Agriculture Committee is drafting the next farm bill and could bring the bill up for consideration by the full House of Representatives yet this year. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway commented last week on the timeframe of getting the 2018 Farm Bill through the House and Senate. Conaway says the Committee and staff are putting “pencil to …
UF Study: Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes Abound in Deforested Lands
Most disease-transmitting mosquito species live in deforested areas, a finding that may influence decisions on where and when to cut down trees, a new University of Florida study shows. Deforestation occurs when people remove trees to make way for neighborhoods, farms, shopping centers, and other land uses, said Nathan Burkett-Cadena, a UF/IFAS entomologist and lead author of the study. For …
Congressional Delegation Comments on Agriculture NAFTA Meetings in Ottawa
Members of a congressional delegation to Ottawa, Canada focused on the agricultural trade offered their comments following meetings with Canadian officials ahead of the next round of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations: “Our goal over the past two days was to ensure our Canadian counterparts understand that U.S. production agriculture has a keen interest in getting NAFTA done …
Conservation Reserve Program Gets Renewed Attention at Confirmation Hearing
The Conservation Reserve Program got renewed attention at a recent confirmation hearing for nominees for top Department of Agriculture posts. Lawmakers focused on both acreage enrollment and emergency CRP haying and grazing. CRP has always been popular, but low crop prices and continuing droughts and other disasters are spurring renewed interest in the land conservation program. South Dakota Ag Senator …
Wal-Mart Customers Flocking to Whole Foods After Amazon Purchase
A consumer traffic analysis says nearly a quarter of Whole Foods new customers are coming from Wal-Mart. Specifically, 24 percent of the new customers streaming to Whole Foods following the Amazon purchase of the grocery chain was Wal-Mart shoppers, while 16 percent are from Kroger and 15 percent from Costco. Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports the increase in customers came …
South Canada Livestock Producers Could See Winter Hay Shortage
Some cattle producers in Canada could face a hay shortage this winter. Saskatchewan ranchers looking for local feed this winter might have a difficult time, but other provinces saw near-record hay production. Commodity News Service Canada reports localized shortages will prompt producers to find other sources. However, how soon depends on how much hay they have stockpiled. Also, lower-quality grain …
Mann Packing Removing Non-GMO Label
Mann Packing will remove the “non-GMO” label term from select products because the company says it “doesn’t want to perpetuate a fear that something is wrong with GMOs.” PRWeek reported the company is turning an about-face, after getting some products verified under the Non-GMO Project. The company is removing the non-GMO verified check from its single-cut lettuce products in its …
Food Price Index Increases
Global food prices made a mild move upward last month, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The monthly FAO Food Price Index averaged 178.4 points in September 2017, up 1.4 points from August and 7.4 points above September 2016. Firmer prices in the vegetable oil and dairy sectors were behind the small month-on-month rise. The …
NAFTA Not Moving Quick Enough
House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway echoed comments made last week by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, saying the negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement are not moving fast enough. Conaway stated: “Perdue hit the nail on the head when he said we need to stop circling the ring in NAFTA negotiations and begin laying out concrete agriculture proposals.” He …