Senator John Barrasso introduced a bill Tuesday that incorporates several measures designed to ease the regulatory burden on farmers and ranchers. Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, says the bill “would help defend agricultural industries from punishing federal rules and reporting requirements,” according to Politico. Known as the ACRE Act, the legislation includes …
Study: Trump Tariffs to Cost an Estimated 24,000 Agriculture Jobs
A study by the Trade Partnership estimates that the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs will cost 495,000 jobs in the United States. That figure is up from a previous estimate of 179,000 jobs. Specific to agriculture, the report estimates that tariffs will cost 24,000 jobs. The job losses, according to the study, would impact the services, manufacturing and agricultural …
Study Finds Breakthrough in Glyphosate Resistance Research
Kansas State University researchers have discovered how weeds develop resistance to glyphosate, which researchers say could have broad future implications in agriculture. Researchers say they found how weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate over a short period of time. The research shows resistance to glyphosate in Palmer amaranth “appears to have occurred very rapidly.” Researchers say glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth plants …
Farmers Seek Syngenta Lawsuit Settlement Approval
U.S. farmers in a class action lawsuit are seeking approval of a settlement agreement with Syngenta. Court records show the class action lawsuit is seeking court approval for a record $1.51 billion settlement with Syngenta. The lawsuit includes farmers, grain handlers and ethanol plants nationwide that sold corn after September 15, 2013. Reuters reports that lawyers for the plaintiffs said …
AEM Releases Latest U.S. Ag Tractor and Combine Sales Report
Concerns Raised Over Impending Steel & Aluminum Tariffs The Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ (AEM) latest U.S. Ag Tractor and Combine Report shows total sales of self-propelled combines in February grew 34 percent compared to last year and sales of 4-wheel drive tractors increased 9 percent. Sales of 2-wheel drive tractors declined 10 percent for February compared to last year. “We’ve …
NCBA Applauds Another 90-Day Delay in Electronic Logging Device Mandate
Mandate Was To Have Taken Effect on Sunday, March 18 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Kevin Kester issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Transportation’s announcement that the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate will be delayed another 90 days for agricultural haulers: “This is obviously good news for America’s cattle haulers and producers, and it will provide …
ARS Scientist Leads Consortium to Seek Honey Bee Disease Controls
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Steven Cook will be leading a $1 million funded international consortium of scientists to seek new controls for Varroa mites, honey bees’ number one problem. Cook, with the Bee Research Laboratory, a part of ARS’s Beltsville (Maryland) Agricultural Research Center, will be the principal investigator of a group that will include scientists from the United States, Canada and Spain. ARS is …
Florida NRCS Offers Sign-up for Tri-State Conservation Project
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications from agricultural producers until April 30 for a Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project that enhances climate resiliency. The Climate Resiliency for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia” project in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint and Ochlockonee River Basins is led by the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District. The project area covers more than …
Commodity Classic Attendance Tops 8,000
Attendance to the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California topped 8,000 guests. Convention organizers say included in the preliminary number of 8,055 registered in Anaheim were a record number of non-exhibitor first-time attendees, at 1,553. More than 3,600 farmers from across the nation and beyond attended the event, along with more than 150 media representatives. The event featured more than …
Early Stage Ag Tech Investments Up 29 Percent
Investments in the early stages of agricultural technology in 2017 increased 29 percent, compared to 2016. AgFunder, a self-proclaimed online investment marketplace for agricultural technology, reports early stage investment in agriculture tech startups reached $10.1 billion in 2017, up 29 percent. The increase reverses a downward trend seen in 2016, when agriculture tech investing dropped nine percent to $7.8 billion …