Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black issued the following statement: “Our agricultural and rural communities have always been the backbone of our state and national economy and I applaud Secretary Perdue and the efforts of the Rural Prosperity Task Force that demonstrate a renewed emphasis on rural areas and agriculture production. President Trump has in just one year already publicly …
November 2017 Pork Exports Set Value Record
Pork exports in November of last year set the highest-ever monthly value record, while beef export value took another step toward a likely full-year value record. November pork exports totaled nearly 224,000 metric tons, down slightly from a year ago, and November export value was a record-high $615.6 million, up five percent year-over-year and just the fourth-time monthly export value …
Senate Ag Gets New Members
The Senate agriculture committee has two new members to start the year. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, has joined the committee, along with Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer. Smith was recently appointed to take the seat of resigned Senator Al Franken. She takes the committee seat of Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, who is leaving the Senate Ag …
AFBF Sets 2018 Policy, Raises Membership Dues
A low-key policy session of American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) delegates this week opted to raise annual national dues for members to $5, from $4. The Hagstrom report points out that delegates voted 298 to 50 in favor of the dues increase, but only after rejecting an amendment to limit the increase to 50 cents. The dues increase required a …
Canada Launches WTO Trade Disputes Against U.S.
Canada has launched a wide-ranging trade dispute against the United States that challenges the U.S. use of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. Canada appeared to be mounting a case on behalf of the rest of the world, since it cited almost 200 examples of alleged U.S. wrongdoing, almost all of them concerning other trading partners, such as China, India, Brazil and …
Trump on NAFTA: Don’t Get Nervous
Following his address to the American Farm Bureau Federation earlier this week, President Donald Trump cautioned farmers and ranchers: “Don’t get nervous” regarding his efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. He made the comments during an interview with RFD-TV. In a separate interview with Agri-Pulse, Trump said: “I’m negotiating tough for the farmers.” Trump says he thinks …
Wrong Trade Policy Poses Risks to Economic Growth
The leader of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the wrong move on trade policy poses serious risk to economic growth. In the annual “State of American Business” address, Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue says that if the U.S. is not leading on trade, “we’re falling behind.” He reasserted the business communities strong support for modernizing the North American …
National Sunflower Association Hosting Research Forum
Researchers from the federal agriculture department and universities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa are presenting at the event on different sunflower studies dealing with diseases, insects, irrigation and blackbirds. Executive Director of the National Sunflower Association John Sandbakken. Tool Grower Kevin Capistran of Crookston explains some of the top concerns for Minnesota sunflower growers. Concerns Sandbakken …
Early Bird Registration Deadline Approaching for 94th Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds those interested in attending this year’s Agricultural Outlook Forum (AOF) that early bird registration ends Friday, January 26, 2018. The two-day meeting will be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, February 22–23, 2018. The Agricultural Outlook Forum is the USDA’s largest annual meeting, attracting as many as 2,000 attendees …
Production Research Proposals Lead Agenda for NPB’s Quarterly Meeting
The National Peanut Board will hold its quarterly Board and committee meetings in Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 6-7, 2018. The Board’s Research Committee will consider requests for FY18 funding for production research from state peanut producer organizations and universities. Funding production research to make America’s peanut farmers more competitive is a core part of the Board’s mission. All meetings take place …