The Federal Reserve’s Agricultural Finance Databook says lending activity in the agricultural sector increased slightly in the second quarter of 2018. The overall number of non-real estate farm loans was roughly two percent higher than at the same time in 2017. The slight increase was supported primarily by larger loans for livestock. In the short term, The Kansas City Fed …
Continued Drought Could Lead to Cattle Culling in Southern States
A Texas A & M AgriLife Extension expert says southern beef producers should be planning ahead when it comes to the size of their herds, should the drought continue. Jason Banta says a shortage of forage and hay might mean producers would need to reduce their herd sizes. A plan to cull their herds could save producers money in both …
Farmers Express Frustration Over Trump Trade Tactics
American farmers are carrying the burden of trade tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump and they were in Washington this week to discuss it during a congressional hearing. Farmers shared concerns that included shrinking export markets, rising costs, and bankers who would be more reluctant to loan money for operating costs. Scott VanderWal, American Farm Bureau vice president, …
Navarro Discounts Trade War Impact on Ag
White House Trade Adviser Pete Navarro downplayed the impact tariffs are having on the ag economy, calling the impact of the trade war between the U.S. and China “a rounding error,” compared with either country’s economic output. “My point is that it’s much less disruptive than these headlines would suggest,” Navarro told CNBC. “It’s also much more constructive as we …
Report Says Meat, Dairy to Become World’s Biggest Polluters
The world’s five biggest meat and dairy producers could soon take the top spot as the world’s biggest polluters. A new report from the nonprofit GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy says meat and dairy could soon produce more greenhouse gasses than oil giants Exxon, Shell, and BP. Zero Hedge Dot Com lists those five ag companies …
Turkey Industry Reviewing Salmonella Controls Amid Outbreak
The National Turkey Federation says its members are fully cooperating with a CDC-USDA investigation into an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that’s been linked to raw turkey products. The industry website Meating Place Dot Com says the outbreak has affected 90 people across 26 states since last November. The US Centers for Disease Control says the turkey came from a variety …
PETA Says Vegan Diet Can Boost Soybean Prices
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is placing a new billboard in Des Moines, Iowa, encouraging people to eat tofu. They say soybean farmers want people to go vegan and support the growers through a trade dispute with China. However, the Iowa Soybean Growers Association is quick to point out that it isn’t asking consumers to give up …
Farm Bureau Response to Navarro’s ‘Rounding Error’ Statement
The following statement may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “White House trade advisor Peter Navarro’s recent comments that the damage this trade war is doing to certain sectors of the U.S. economy, of which we all know includes agriculture, is little more than a ‘rounding error’ are out of touch with the pain our farmers …
Field Days Provide Growers with Valuable Information
On July 18th, northeast Georgia cotton producers, University of Georgia (UGA) faculty & staff, and industry personnel gathered at UGA’s J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center in Watkinsville for a cotton field day. At the field day, attendees got to see firsthand the research that UGA’s first class group of extension scientists are conducting with producer funds via …
Perdue: Tariffs not the Ultimate Answer
“Tariffs are not the ultimate answer,” says Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Speaking to the Washington International Trade Association, Perdue told the group tariffs are rather “a tool to get people’s attention” so both teams “play by the same rules.” Politico reports that Perdue recognized retaliation by China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union to Trump’s tariffs was causing pain in …