Campbell Soup Company will leave the Grocery Manufacturers Association by the end of the year over a dispute on labeling of genetically modified ingredients, according to Politico. GMA is opposed to GMO labeling, while Campbell has long been vocal about increasing transparency of its ingredients. Campbell Chief Executive Denise Morrison told investors the move was not for financial reasons but …
Perdue Speaks Alabama Farmers’ Language
Alabama farmers are hopeful a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture laid the groundwork for improved farm programs, trade, and communication. Secretary Sonny Perdue told Alabama Farmers Federation leaders he wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to partner with farmers. “My goal is to make….the USDA to be identified, recognized and acknowledged as the most efficient, the most …
FDA Grants to Help States Comply with FSMA Produce Rule
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing $30.9 million in funding to support 43 states in their continued efforts to help implement the Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) produce safety rule. The funds represent the largest total of grants made available by the FDA to support compliance with the rule, which seeks to update and strengthen the FDA’s …
U.S., China Sign Agreement to Provide Market Access for U.S. Rice Exports
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Thursday announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reached a final agreement with Chinese officials to allow the United States to begin exporting rice to China for the first time. Secretary Perdue says the agreement has been in the works for more than a decade and says the agreement represents “an exceptional opportunity” with potential for …
Mexican Ambassador Addresses Corn Farmers
Mexican Ambassador to the U.S., Gerónimo Gutiérrez spoke to more than 200 corn farmers from the National Corn Growers Association this week in Washington, D.C. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has benefited both the American and Mexican agriculture industries, and Mexico is optimistic about the prospects of modernizing the trade agreement, Mexican Ambassador Gerónimo Gutiérrez told more than …
McKinney, Clovis, Officially Nominated for USDA Posts
President Donald Trump has nominated Ted McKinney for Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs and Dr. Sam Clovis for Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. Both have long been rumored to take top seats at the Department of Agriculture for months. McKinney currently serves as the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and Clovis was …
First Round of NAFTA Talks Scheduled
As expected, U.S. trade officials confirmed this week that North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations would begin August 16th, the first day allowed by U.S. law. The office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced this week that the talks would kick off in Washington, D.C. on August 16th, and the initial rounds of negotiations are scheduled to wrap up …
NACD Supports Farm Bill Coalition Recommendations
The Forests in the Farm Bill Coalition (FIFB) released its 2018 Farm Bill recommendations. The National Association of Conservation Districts has been an active participant in the creation of the recommendations, serving on two of the coalition’s working groups to ensure that NACD’s policies and principles were included. “The public expects clean air and water, healthy soils, and abundant wildlife habitat …
NMPF Proposal to Improve H-2A for Dairy Advances Thanks to Rep. Newhouse
In a meeting with Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern expressed appreciation on behalf of the nation’s dairy farmers for the congressman’s work to advance NMPF’s proposal to expand the H-2A farm worker visa program to include year-round employees on dairy farms. During consideration Wednesday of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s annual …
NCC Encouraged by Cottonseed Policy Inclusion
The FY18 Agriculture Appropriations bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee includes a number of key provisions from the industry’s cottonseed proposal to help provide economic relief to cotton producers until a new farm bill is in place. A summary of the bill’s cottonseed provisions is in a Committee news release. National Cotton Council Chairman Ronnie Lee, a Georgia …