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 …

“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 …

Coffee Supplies May Drop on Low Farm Earnings

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 …

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 …