prices

NM Attorney Launches Probe of U.S. Beef Processors

Dan Beef, Industry News Release

New Mexico’s Attorney General is launching a probe into the business practices of some of the nation’s largest beef processors. He contends the state’s ranchers and cattle farmers are being “harmed by out-of-state corporations.” The Attorney General, Hector Balderas, says he’s concerned about the “unfair and anti-competitive practices” of companies like Cargill, JBS, Tyson Foods, and the National Beef Packing …

pork

Rabobank Finds Pork Export Market Projections Favorable

Dan Industry News Release, Pork

Looking ahead to the second and third quarter of 2017, Rabobank says pork export projections look favorable for the industry. Rabobank Research Food and Agribusiness analysts find that a stable market is ahead into the third quarter as increased U.S. pork production is being absorbed into Asian export markets. The report on National Hog Farmer Dot Com says the industry …

agricultural

Commerce Department to End Mexican Sugar Dumping

Dan Industry News Release, Sugar

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced it intends to end the antidumping and countervailing duty suspension agreements in place with Mexico over what it calls that country’s unfair trading practices. The department will impose duties on Mexican sugar imports beginning on June 5, unless the two countries can come to an agreement. Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the American Sugar …

China

Dow/DuPont Merger Gets Conditional China Approval

Dan Industry News Release

Dow and DuPont announced this week they’ve been given conditional regulatory merger approval the Ministry of Commerce of China. The approval is conditionally based on the companies fulfilling commitments that were given to the Ministry regarding the deal. The conditions for approval are similar to commitments the companies already made to get approval from the European Union Commission. For example, …

grain analysts

Minnesota Court Delays Syngenta Lawsuit Hearing

Dan Corn, Industry News Release

The Associated Press reports that the first of literally tens of thousands of lawsuits against Syngenta has been delayed until July. The suits accuse the Swiss agribusiness company of introducing a genetically engineered corn variety before China had approved it for imports, thereby causing farmers economic harm. The case was supposed to go to trial last week in a Minnesota …

conservation

Renewal Sign-up Deadline for Expiring CSP Contracts is Friday

Dan Environment, USDA-NRCS

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wants to remind landowners with existing Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts that expire on December 31, the contract renewal sign-up deadline is this Friday, May 5. And even if you are not involved in CSP, NRCS Acting Chief Leonard Jordan, says they made several updates to the program last fall to help producers better evaluate …

nrcs

NACD Applauds Appropriations Bill in Support of Conservation

Dan Environment, Industry News Release, Legislative

Congress is expected to pass an appropriations bill this week that for the remainder of this fiscal year would provide strong support for many of the voluntary conservation programs that millions of landowners nationwide utilize to protect and improve America’s water quality, soil health, and wildlife habitat. “NACD is very pleased that House and Senate appropriators have finally reached an …

welfare standards

Organic Farmers Push for Welfare Standards Implementation

Dan Dairy, Industry News Release, Organic

Organic dairy and livestock farmers are pushing for Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue to let animal welfare standards formed at the end of the Obama Administration to go into effect. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the farmers argue that the long sought-after rules will give consumers what they want. The measure has long been supported by the USDA’s Organic Advisory Board …

trade

TPP Nations Meet in Canada to Discuss Future of Pact

Dan Industry News Release, Trade

Bloomberg reports Canada is hosting what it calls an “exploratory” round of talks regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Senior trade officials from the remaining countries in the pact are in talks this week in Toronto. The event is expected to be a stage-setter for an upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vietnam. The article says this week’s trade talks are a …

monsanto

Monsanto Terminates Sale of Precision Planting to John Deere

Dan Industry News Release

The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that John Deere and Monsanto had terminated their attempted sale of Precision Planting, LLC., from Monsanto to John Deere. The department filed suit to block the sale on August 31, 2016, to block the acquisition. The reasoning behind the suit was the Justice Department felt the sale was a merger-to-monopoly in high-speed …