The National Cotton Council says the Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposal includes a number of extremely concerning program reductions and eliminations that, if implemented, would severely compromise policies that are critical to America’s cotton farming families. The NCC emphasized that U.S. cotton producers already are struggling with difficult economic conditions and the lack of access to the same …
USFRA Unveils Agriculture in America Sustainability Report at Sustainable Brands Conference
First-ever Agriculture in America Sustainability Report by USFRA highlights examples of exemplary sustainable farming practices on farms across the nation. This week at the Sustainable Brands Conference, a national event showcasing brand leaders who create the environmental and social purpose to drive innovation, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) will publicly introduce its first-ever Agriculture in America Sustainability Report. It …
ChemChina Plans a Second Merger
ChemChina and Sinochem (Sih’-noh-kem) are planning a merger next year. Several senior bankers in Asia say the merger would create the biggest chemicals group in the world with $100 billion in revenues. The merger would come after ChemChina’s $43 billion mergers with Syngenta. A Financial Times Dot Com article says China has 1.4 billion people to feed, so the country …
Brazil Launching Four New Probes Into JBS
Brazil’s securities regulator announced it’s launching four new probes into meatpacker JBS and other companies also controlled by J & F Investments. The probes are looking into suspicious trades made just before markets were rattled by the news of a plea deal by the company’s top executives. The investigation is looking into signs of “possible insider trading” of foreign exchange …
China/U.S. Beef Import Discussions Moving Faster
The pace of talks to resume U.S. beef exports to China appears to be picking up. Final details are expected to be in place by early next month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it’s great news for American farmers who will be able to pursue business in China that’s been lost by a rival beef producer, Brazil. As a …
EPA Is The Top Target for Budget Cuts
Candidate Donald Trump vowed to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in virtually every way, leaving only tidbits of what it once was. A Washington Post article says his budget proposal aims to follow through on that campaign promise. The proposed budget from the White House hits the EPA with a 31 percent budget cut, down to $5.65 …
White House Budget Proposal Cuts Ag Spending $46 Billion
A Reuters report says President Trump’s budget proposal contains $46.54 billion in cuts to government funding in the Ag sector, with those cuts spread out over ten years. The biggest proposed cut is $38 billion dollars from farm support programs. Those cuts include new limits on federal subsidies for crop insurance premiums and a cap on potential commodity program payments. …
Ag Groups Respond to White House Budget Cuts
President Trump’s Budget is an Assault on the Farm Safety Net and Rural Communities, National Farmers Union Says President Donald J. Trump issued the detailed fiscal year 2018 federal budget proposal, recommending drastic cuts to agricultural and rural related agencies and programs. The proposal would cut Farm Bill programs by nearly $230 billion and slash the U.S. Department of Agriculture …
Valenstein Chosen as State Environmental Chief
by Jim Turner, News Service of Florida With Gov. Rick Scott describing him as “passionate about the environment,” Noah Valenstein was named Tuesday as Florida’s next environmental secretary after a short interview with Scott and members of the state Cabinet. Valenstein, a former Scott aide who is executive director of the Suwannee River Water Management District, will take over at …
Proposed Ag Budget Fails Farmers, Ranchers, Farm Bureau President Says
The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “The American Farm Bureau Federation and its members are concerned about the federal budget deficit. However, we also know that agriculture has done its fair share to help reduce the deficit. Going back to the early 1980s, agriculture often has been targeted to generate budget savings, from …