A bipartisan group of Senators sent a letter this week to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, asking the administration to collect a “robust economic analysis” to evaluate how changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would affect agriculture. The letter says, “It’s imperative that before any changes are made to NAFTA or any other free trade agreement, that economic …
AFBF Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge Highlights Importance of Rural Innovation
The Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge helps boost rural innovation and business, a critical part of the rural economy. Four finalist teams in the competition will compete for a total of $30,000 in prize money at the 2018 AFBF Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show in January, in addition to already being awarded $15,000. Anne Hazlett, who leads USDA’s Rural Development efforts, …
USDA Helps Military Veterans Learn Skills for Farming and Ranching Careers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced a new grant opportunity to help military veterans pursue farming and ranching careers. Funding is made through NIFA’s Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans Competitive Grants Program (AgVets). “Nearly four million veterans reside in rural America, and NIFA is determined to support veterans who want to …
Exploring a World without Food Animals
What would happen if U.S. farmers stopped producing animals for food and Americans went vegan? Some have called for a move in that direction to address increasing concerns about U.S. health, eating habits, and climate change. Researchers at USDA‘s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Virginia Tech recently explored those questions and found surprising results. Mary Beth Hall, an ARS animal scientist at the U.S. …
USDA Provides Tips and Resources for a Bacteria-Free Thanksgiving
More than 45 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving Day, with a never-ending list of side dishes and desserts. The Thanksgiving meal is by far the largest and most stressful meal many consumers prepare all year, leaving room for mistakes that can make guests sick. But never fear, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) …
Tax Bills ‘Marginally Beneficial to Industry’
The pork industry says the tax bills moving in Congress are “marginally beneficial to the industry,” which continues to pursue improvements as the measures continue to advance. The pork industry is generally pleased with the House-passed and Senate-Finance-passed tax bills, but National Pork Producers’ (NPPC) Dustin Baker says NPPC is seeking added changes. Baker says the three breaks are used …
Census of Ag Helps Farmers Influence Future Policy
USDA Census of Agriculture forms will start showing up in farmers’ mailboxes in December. The national census is conducted by the National Ag Statistics Service every five years and it’s extremely important that farmers take time to respond. Barbara Ratner is the census and survey director at NASS and she says, “The census is aimed at getting a complete count …
Holiday Drivers Save by Choosing E-15 Fuel
Triple-A recently predicted a record number of drivers will be on the road for the Thanksgiving holiday. Growth Energy says those drivers could save up to $4 million by filling up with E-15. Growth Energy is encouraging drivers to take advantage of the value E-15 brings and go to Get Ethanol dot com to locate the nearest E-15 station while …
Pro-Trade Republicans Unhappy with U.S. NAFTA Positions
Pro-trade Republicans are increasingly worried that the Trump Administration will pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) , rather than negotiate a deal that keeps core benefits intact. As the fifth round of talks winds up on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Republican Charlie Dent says, “I think the administration is playing a dangerous game with the sunset provision.” He …
Fifth Round of NAFTA Talks Moving Slowly
The fifth round of negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) got off to a slow start and continue to move slowly this week. A source tells CBC dot com that negotiators have talked through a dozen topics but there hasn’t been much movement. However, that same source also says while progress has been slow, there haven’t been …