Representatives Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts introduced the Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The legislation is designed to protect the health of honey bees and other critical pollinators. Estimates are that the U.S. lost one-third of honeybee colonies between 2016 and 2017, with similar losses occurring in previous years. To help bring a halt to the trend, …
Immigration Debate in Congress Still Struggling
The Senate’s immigration debate ended on Thursday with no deal. Neither a bipartisan plan nor President Trump’s proposal had the required number of votes to pass. Every proposal considered couldn’t reach the 60-vote threshold. That leaves the undocumented immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in limbo and lawmakers unsure of what’s next in the debate. In the …
Trump to Sit Down with Mexican President
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations will be just one of the topics President Trump will discuss with the President of Mexico when they meet in the next few weeks. Bloomberg says they plan to discuss the relationship between the two countries and several pending issues. The meeting comes after several months of sometimes contentious NAFTA discussions and …
2018 USDA Ag Outlook Forum Offers Pre-Forum Field Trips on Farming and Research
Experience farming and ag research first hand with two Pre-Forum Field Trips prior to the 2018 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Early arrivals may take part in two tour options on Wednesday, Feb. 21; the Forum takes place on Feb. 22-23 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Crystal City, Virginia. Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, Md. will host a farm conservation tour …
Syngenta Acquires Satellite Imagery Innovator
Syngenta has acquired FarmShots, Inc., a North Carolina-based innovator of high-resolution satellite imagery that detects plant health by analyzing absorbed light from field images. In a company news release (see below), Syngenta says FarmShots was developed to help farmers, agronomists and retailers quickly and accurately spot field issues caused by planter skips, emergence, insect feeding, poor plant nutrition, crop diseases, …
Southern Plains Drought Becoming “Rapidly Dire”
The latest Drought Monitor released Thursday suggests the situation in the Southern Plains is becoming “rapidly dire.” February 14th marked the 124th consecutive day without rain in Amarillo, Texas, and the 98th consecutive day without measurable precipitation for Lubbock, Texas. The western half of Oklahoma and northern Texas are classified in an extreme drought, with nearly all of both states …
NAFTA Exit Would Trigger 15 cent Mexican Sugar Tariff
Withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would revert the U.S. tariff on sugar imports from Mexico to 15 cents per-pound, the level in place before NAFTA went into effect. A trade adviser to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a meeting of the sweetener industry this week that NAFTA eliminated the U.S. tariff on sugar, but Mexican sugar …
Growth Energy: More Biofuels Vital to Improving U.S. Energy Outlook
Federal forecasts in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) newly released Annual Energy Outlook 2018 (AEO2018) demonstrate a clear and growing need for U.S. biofuels says Chris Bliley, vice president of regulatory affairs at Growth Energy. The EIA “reference” case, which contains projections through 2050 based on current trends and regulations, predicts an 18 percent increase in miles traveled by …
Study Of U.S. Grains Council ROI
$20 In Tax Revenue For Every $1 In Farm Bill Spending On Export Market Development Spending on overseas market development for U.S. feed grains and related products increased the value of those exports by an average of $1.71 billion per year from 2010 to 2014 and increased U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by an average of $5 billion per year, …
Ron Craft to Lead the National Cotton Council in 2018
Ron Craft, a cotton producer and fifth-generation ginner from Plains, Texas, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2018. Named during the NCC’s 2018 annual meeting held in Fort Worth, Texas on February 9-11, Craft moves up from NCC vice chairman to succeed Ronnie Lee, a cotton producer from Bronwood, Georgia. Active in many state and national farm and gin …