A new report says the U.S. beef herd will keep expanding through the end of this decade but there shouldn’t be any need for increased beef packer capacity. The report from CoBank says the herd will increase 3-5 percent from 2018-2019. Improving pasture conditions and continued profitability in the beef sector have been fueling herd expansion in recent years. Trevor …
Brazil Says U.S. Ban on Brazilian Beef May End in October
Brazil’s agriculture ministry says that the ban on fresh Brazilian beef exports to the United States may be lifted in October. The ban was first implemented in June. A Reuters article says it would end after the U.S. finishes evaluating the responses on documents sent in response to questions raised earlier this year during a U.S. veterinary mission to Brazil. …
Organic Field Crop Production Numbers Rising
Organic farming is a rapidly growing segment of U.S. agriculture. Organic vegetables, fruits, and livestock make up the bulk of the entire segment. However, a new USDA report shows organic field crops are making gains in the number of acres planted and overall value. The National Ag Statistics Service released the numbers showing that U.S. farms and ranches produced $7.6 …
Mexico Says U.S. Proposals Would Threaten Free Ag Trade
Pan Am Post Dot Com says the U.S. will be putting forth controversial proposals during the next round of North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The U.S. will allegedly be putting forth proposals for what it calls “seasonal windows” when it comes to agriculture trading with Mexico and Canada. The article says this type of a proposal would be a …
NAFTA Nations Reports Progress Despite Tensions
Negotiators in the North American Free Trade Agreement talks say they’re making progress after the third round of talks concluded Wednesday. A Bloomberg report says that talk of progress comes as tensions grow between the U.S. and Canada over aircraft. The U.S. imposed trade duties on Canadian-made aircraft, inflaming tensions with Canada. The nations did make some progress in the …
Organic Trade Association Responds To Jump in Organic Sales Data
A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found a 23 percent jump in organic sales from 2015 to 2016. Laura Batcha, CEO of the Organic Trade Association, says that’s very good news for the industry. She says the market has been growing faster in recent years at the consumer level than the base number of organic acres and …
“i5k” is for Insects
Nearly 75 percent of all animal species are insects and other arthropods. Many profoundly impact people and the Earth’s ecology. Some insects pollinate a third of our food crops. Others destroy one-fifth of the world’s total crop production annually. Given the importance of arthropods, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) helped organize the “i5k Initiative.” The goal is to sequence and …
NMPF Urges Government-Take Action Against Misleading Labeling of “Blue Magic” Milk
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) urged federal and state food regulators to take enforcement action against imitation dairy product “Blue Magic Cashew Milk” for continuing to ignore federal standards of identity for dairy products. In a letter sent today to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, NMPF said that use of …
Irma Storm Damage?
Federal Program Provides Help Release from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service If your area suffers damage from a natural disaster, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can help. The Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP) relieves imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms and hurricanes. Aid may include financial and technical assistance to remove debris from …
Battle Lines Drawn on Tax Reform
The battle lines are drawn on President Trump’s tax reform proposals. The top Senate Democrat has just ‘tarred and feathered’ key provisions that would benefit farmers and other small businesses. Democrats stopped the GOP effort to repeal Obamacare, now they’re taking aim at the Republican push for tax reform, including estate tax repeal and changes to ‘pass-through’ tax rates that …