Forbes speculates that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations may be reaching a breaking point. Little progress has been made in previous talks as the U.S. continues to push a hardline stance that the governments of Canada and Mexico aren’t going to accept. Last week, a government official from Mexico left a meeting with the Trump Administration with …
Farmers Commend Senate Action on Tax Reform
The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “ Farmers and ranchers have long called for a fair tax code that recognizes our hard work as well as the unique challenges we face in growing our nation’s food, fiber and fuel. The Senate’s passage of tax reform legislation today puts us within reach of that …
Creating an Ag Industry Common Software Language
Syngenta is helping to lead an industry-wide effort to develop common language for farm software and equipment. The Agricultural Data Application Programming Toolkit, known as ADAPT, is a project that Ag Gateway, a nonprofit group of more than 230 ag companies is spearheading. Aaron Deardorff, head of digital agriculture solutions at Syngenta explains the benefits of ADAPT for U.S. growers. …
US Beef Producers Growing Concerned as TPP-11 Agreement Draws Near
The 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership are moving forward with a modified trade agreement, known as the Comprehensive and progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or the CP-TPP. Officials with the U.S. Meat Export Federation say this updated deal will leave American producers in the dust. Federation economist Erin Borror says market access remains the biggest concern for U.S. …
New Tax Regulations Could Be a Boost for Farm Commodities
The Environmental Protection Agency Thursday finalized a rule that establishes the required renewable fuel volumes under the Renewable Fuels Standard program for 2018 and biomass-based diesel for 2019. The agency set a total renewable fuel blending obligation of 19.29 billion gallons next year, maintaining the statutory requirement of 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel such as corn-based ethanol and 4.29 …
2017 Census of Agriculture Gets Underway
The Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has started mailing the 2017 Census of Agriculture to the nation’s producers. USDA NASS state statistician Erik Gerlach says a lot of valuable information is collected from the answers given on the census. Data Gerlach says the way survey information is compiled, individual producers are never identified. Survey Conducted once every five …
So, You’ve Inherited a Farm, Now What?
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension is sponsoring a series of seminars next week focusing on issues that involve inheriting farmland. The seminar is titled “So, You’ve Inherited a Farm, Now What?” and will provide information and education about farmland ownership. Extension Educator Allan Vyhnalek will be one of the presenters at the two and half hour seminar. Info Vyhnalek says …
USDA Announces Sorghum Checkoff Board Appointments
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of five members to serve on the United Sorghum Checkoff Program Board. The producers appointed to serve three year terms are: Klint G. Stewart Columbus, Neb. Carlton Bridgeforth, Decatur, Ala. Verity Ulibarri, Melrose, N.M. Shayne C. Suppes, Scott City, Kan. Charles Ray Huddleston, Celina, Texas “The United Sorghum Checkoff Program helps sorghum producers …
Perdue: U.S. Farm Exports to Continue Strong in FY 2018
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement regarding the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) export forecast. “This quarterly trade forecast reflects the fact that U.S. agricultural exports are continuing strong in the 2018 fiscal year. We just closed out FY 2017 with the third-highest export total on record and I’m delighted to see that FY 2018 is …
GAO: Improvements Recommended to Checkoff Oversight
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending several changes to improve oversight of commodity checkoff programs. The recommendations include instituting a better review of subcontracts and display of key documents on program websites, according to meat industry publication Meatingplace. There are 22 federal agricultural research and promotion programs, funded by a fraction of the sale of each unit of a …