by Marlee Moore, Alabama Farmers Federation Pickens County farmer Annie Dee was recently selected to serve on the Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) Advisory Board, where she fills a pivotal role connecting U.S. farmers to the international development community. Dee is a partner in Dee River Ranch near Aliceville, a family-owned and -operated 10,000-acre diversified farm. Dee said she knows U.S. soybean farmers …
Pork Industry Says No Bacon Shortage
A very high demand for bacon has driven pork belly supplies to record lows, prompting talk of a nationwide bacon shortage. However, the pork industry remains confident it can keep up with the increasing demand and avoid a serious shortage of the product.
Trump Trade Policies Good for New Zealand?
The New Zealand trade envoy says a Donald Trump presidency might be good for his country. Special Agricultural Trade Envoy Mike Petersen says, “He (Trump) is really strong on holding countries accountable on their trade obligations and that’s a good thing.”
Cargill Chief: NAFTA in “Good Place”
As Cargill Chair and CEO David MacLennan looks at the North American Free Trade Agreement, pulling out of the deal would have a “chilling effect on the already depressed agricultural economy.” He says new trade deals must fill the hole left by the Trump Administration’s move to exit the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
State Ag Directors Want NAFTA Fixes
As President Donald Trump gets set to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. state directors of agriculture are weighing in on which parts of the agreement they’d like to see fixed.
Funding for Plant and Animal Phenomics and Microbiome Projects
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced 11 grants totaling $3 million for Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) projects focused on plant and animal phenomics and microbiomes. The grants are funded through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Food Security Program, authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill.
NMPF Urges Senate Ag Committee to Confirm Perdue as Ag Secretary
The National Milk Producers Federation urged the Senate Agriculture Committee to swiftly confirm former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, as NMPF, its 29 member cooperatives and numerous state dairy associations joined more than 600 other farm and agriculture groups in a letter endorsing Perdue for the position.
Backroom Briefing: Putnam Says Rural Areas Get ‘Short Shrift’
FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA By JIM SAUNDERS AND JIM TURNER THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, February 2, 2017………. Since Gov. Rick Scott took office slightly more than six years ago, he has focused — some would say almost singularly — on a message of jobs, jobs, jobs. But Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who could run to replace the term-limited Scott …
Dairy Trade in the Trump Era
by Jim Mulhern,President, CEO of NMPF On his first Monday in the White House, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order officially abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This action raised as many questions as it answered about the future of trade policy in the new administration. It certainly signals that America’s approach to global trade policy will undergo a serious …
Online Grocery Shopping Poised to Boom in 2017
Researchers suggest online grocery shopping is expected to expand by nearly 50 percent by this summer. NPD Group, a New York-based market research company, reports that an estimated 52 million consumers currently shop for food and beverages online and 20 million current, lapsed, or newcomers to online grocery shopping will increase their Internet purchases within the next six months.