Bloomberg News reports orange juice futures jumped 6.2 percent before Wednesday, the largest increase in 16 months, ahead of the feared landfall of Hurricane Irma in Florida. The scale-topping hurricane remains on track to threaten Southeast U.S. agriculture later this week. Florida is the nation’s top orange producer, and all of the state’s crop is at risk of moderate to …
KORUS Withdraw Would Harm Pork Producers
Iowa State University says pork prices could fall by nearly five dollars per-animal if the U.S. withdraws from the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, known as KORUS. President Donald Trump suggested the action over the weekend, but the administration has backed away from those claims this week. National Hog Farmer magazine reports that if KORUS is terminated, the United States likely …
Experts Predict Little Ag Damage in DACA Action
An immigration attorney told the Capital Press this week that any changes to DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, would have little impact on agriculture. Tom Roach, a Pasco, Washington immigration attorney, says ending deportation deferrals for illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children may not be a big hit to agriculture. He says most of …
White House Backs 2018 Spending Package
The Trump administration offered support this week to the 2018 spending package the U.S. House is set to consider that includes the ag spending bill. The measure includes funding for the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies. In a statement, the White House says that if the bill was “presented to the president in its …
Farmer Optimism Waning
Another poll released this week shows optimism is decreasing in farm country. DTN-The Progressive Farmers released its August Agricultural Confidence Index this week. The survey finds that while farmers are more optimistic than August 2016, the strong optimism they started the year with is waning. The overall index for August fell more than 26 points, to a moderate 104.3, compared …
Displaced Horses Continue to Find Shelter at Florida Agriculture Center & Horse Park
The Florida Agricultural Center & Horse Park (FHP) located in Ocala, Florida is currently providing shelter and boarding for 126 horses displaced due to the imminent threat of Hurricane Irma. After receiving the initial inquiry last week, FHP immediately began to accept evacuees. The facility can host up to 160 horses at capacity and encourages those seeking lodging for their …
Georgia Department of Agriculture Responding to Threat of Hurricane Irma
With expectations of the extremely powerful Hurricane Irma to impact south Florida this weekend, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) is working with all of our state, federal and industry partners to support the safety and comfort of Georgia citizens, their animals and our Florida neighbors fleeing the storm. To assist those evacuating with animals, GDA has temporarily suspended …
Farmers Looking for Relief in Tax Reform
Congress is back in session with a promise to work on tax reform this month. American Farm Bureau Federation tax specialist Pat Wolff says farmers need overall tax relief from Congress in any tax reform package. Wolff says there is a lot of talk about lowering corporate tax rates but says business structures vary for farms, most of which …
Vietnam Reopens Market to U.S. DDGS Exports
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the government of Vietnam has notified the U.S. that it will resume imports of American distillers dried grains (DDGS). In December 2016, Vietnam suspended imports of U.S. DDGS after reported detections of quarantine pests in U.S. shipments. Prior to the suspension, Vietnam was …
Jimmy Osceola Wins Florida NRCS Native Art Competition
Story by Beverly Bidney, The Seminole Tribune An oil painting created by artist Jimmy Osceola depicting Seminoles at Lake Okeechobee won the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service poster contest in August. The theme of the competition was “Water is the Essential Element.” Osceola’s painting, titled “Big Water of Life”, will be printed on posters and distributed to the United States …