International coffee growers are warning fewer coffee supplies may be in the future as coffee farmers are earning very little globally. The International Coffee Organization this week said farmers’ low earnings in many countries were depressing supply even as demand grows by two percent annually, according to Reuters. Rabobank last month forecast a 2017-18 global coffee deficit of 6.1 million …
BPI Using Settlement Funds to Help Employees
Owners of Beef Products Inc. have established a $10 million fund to benefit former BPI employees impacted by plant closures. The fund will help employees who were laid off when sales dropped stemming from a series of reports about the company’s Lean Finely Textured Beef product broadcast by ABC News. BPI laid off roughly 750 employees and closed facilities in …
Ireland Tops U.S. in Food Security
For the first time, the United States has dropped from the top spot in a global ranking of how well countries can feed their own people. A new ranking shows Ireland now as the world’s most food secure nation, with the U.S. the second most food-secure nation. Bloomberg reports the drop in food security for the U.S. can be attributed …
Syngenta Reaches Settlement in Viptera Case
Syngenta has reached a settlement with farmers involved in lawsuits over the launch of Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera and Agrisure Duracade corn traits. The lawsuits alleged Syngenta’s release of traits unapproved in China led the nation to reject U.S. corn shipments and pushed corn prices lower. The settlement is estimated to be close to $1.5 billion, according to Reuters. The settlement …
South Korea Trade Representative Meets with U.S. Lawmakers
South Korea’s Trade Minister is meeting with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. this week, ahead of a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer next month. Lighthizer will meet with Korea next month to discuss a “path forward” for KORUS, The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. Korea’s Trade Minister has met with agriculture sector lawmakers, including Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer, to discuss …
Grassley Slams EPA RFS Proposal to Cut Biodiesel
The Environmental Protection Agency announced it’s considering a new proposal to reduce 2018 biodiesel, advanced biofuel, and total Renewable Fuel Standard volumes, in addition to a prior proposal to cut 2019 volumes. that has ethanol supporters ‘hopping mad.’ Ethanol Industry groups swiftly responded with press releases that the EPA proposal was unjustified, unneeded, contrary to the RFS’s intent, and would …
USDA Agency-led Group Profiles U.S. Aquaculture for World Report
Charting a course ahead for the conservation and sustainable farming of freshwater and marine species is a chief focus of the first State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report will contain smaller subsections from 89 contributing countries, including the United States. This summer, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) national program leader Caird …
Perdue Statement on President Trump’s Tax Reform Agenda
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue applauded President Donald J. Trump’s vision of a broad reform of the American tax code, which will result in dramatic tax cuts for millions of American individuals, families, businesses, and family farmers, ranchers, and foresters. Secretary Perdue issued the following statement: “The people of American agriculture work hard every day to provide food, fiber, and …
American Farm Bureau Encouraged by Tax Framework, but Refinement Needed
The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “Comprehensive tax reform is essential to addressing the financial challenges faced by America’s farmers and ranchers. The tax-reform framework announced today is an important step toward a fair and equitable tax system that encourages success, savings, investment, and entrepreneurship. “Farm Bureau is encouraged to see that this …
UF Expert Helps Ensure “Grain Train” Gets Through
As Hurricane Irma barreled toward Florida in early September, she threatened to starve thousands of dairy cows by delaying the grain train – two dozen freight cars of feed commodities bound for the Lake Okeechobee area. The crisis was resolved by a team that included a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) expert and representatives of …