A U.S. Appeals Court in San Francisco denied a petition from environmental groups to force the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Reuters says that decision ends one of three parallel attempts to get the ban put in place. The groups, including Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council, wanted the ban in place because they allege the …
No Timeline to Restore Brazilian Beef Imports
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue met his counterpart from Brazil on Monday to discuss the U.S. ban on fresh beef imports from Brazil. Perdue said the U.S. needs to see more progress from Brazil on beef inspections before the ban would be lifted. A Cattle Network Dot Com article says the ban went into effect on June 22nd as the …
Farmers and Ranchers Push for Comprehensive Tax Reform
Tax policies to support and preserve agriculture are essential to every farmer and rancher in America, a group of Farm Bureau members in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with lawmakers say. “Tax reform is critical for farmers and ranchers,” said Isabella Chism, a corn and soybean farmer and Farm Bureau member from Indiana who is vice chair of the …
Researchers Hope to Help Find Sites to Grow Tomorrow’s Produce
by Brad Buck, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences University of Florida researchers are sounding a warning bell that fresh produce may be hard to come by in the future. Scientists with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences cite changes in our climate, loss of fresh water and competition for resources as major threats to farmers’ …
Perdue Farms to Upgrade Animal Welfare Standards
The nation’s fourth-largest poultry producer, Perdue Farms, announced it’s adopting new animal welfare standards that increase the well-being of its broilers. The announcement came from the Perdue Animal Welfare Summitt, which brought together animal care experts from around the globe, advocates, researchers, and farmers. Jim Perdue, Chairman of Perdue Farms, said trust is earned by responding to consumers and other …
U.S. Dairy Increasing Pressure on Canada
The U.S. dairy lobby is putting increasing pressure on Canada as the talks to redo NAFTA draw closer. People close to the situation told Reuters that America’s dairy farmers want concessions that Canada doesn’t seem likely to grant. The deal could be a hindrance to the upcoming NAFTA talks, under which Canada sends a lot of its exports to the …
House Budget Wants $10 Billion Cuts to Ag Spending
The House GOP released its budget this week, calling for $10 billion in spending cuts to agricultural programs through the next ten years. However, Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the plan doesn’t necessarily say how to go about getting to that number. It does recommend reigning in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending by promoting “state flexibility,” but it doesn’t go …
Congress Calls on Administration for Economic Assistance for Cotton Producers
A large, bipartisan block of 135 Senators and Representatives sent letters to President Trump strongly urging the Administration’s support, through USDA, to operate the Cotton Ginning Cost Share Program effective for the 2016 crop year and on an ongoing basis. The Senate letter noted, “In the past decade, the U.S. cotton industry has endured a World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge, …
Young Farm Leaders Qualify for Statewide Award
Three finalists have been selected for Florida Farm Bureau’s 2017 Achievement in Agriculture Award and will compete in October for the top statewide honor at the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Ponte Vedra. This year’s finalists are Brittany Lee (Alachua County), Jimmy Hancock (Pasco County) and Kelly Mosley (Clay County). The Achievement in Agriculture Award recognizes members of Florida …
Farm Bureau Responds to USTR’s NAFTA Objectives
The following statement may be attributed to Zippy Duvall, president, American Farm Bureau Federation: “The North American Free Trade agreement has helped America’s farmers and ranchers make significant gains in U.S. ag exports to Canada and Mexico, and the administration’s negotiating objectives for the agreement will maintain and improve agricultural trade with our nearest trading partners. We look forward to …