‘Phase one’ with China is ‘pretty much all for the farmers,’ says Trump
With China confirming that it will sign a “phase one” trade agreement next week, President Trump said on Thursday that the pact, which will include China buying up to $50 billion a year in U.S. farm exports, “is pretty much all for the farmers.” At the same time, the outlook darkened for final congressional approval of the USMCA next week.
Legislation to reform checkoffs introduced in the House
Legislation introduced in the House on Thursday would reform so-called “checkoff” programs, which impose mandatory taxes on producers of some commodities in order to fund promotional campaigns.
Farmland values: Steady, with a risk of decline
Despite the dour mood in the agricultural sector, prices for good-quality farmland held steady in 2019, partly because less land than usual was on the market, said Farmers National Co., a farm management and real estate company.
Digital shoppers face a barrage of pop-ups and promos for unhealthy food
Within a few years, the average U.S. household will spend $850 annually on food and beverage purchases over the internet, according to an estimate by Nielsen and the Food Marketing Institute. On Wednesday, a consumer group warned that digital grocers “are generally undermining Americans’ efforts to eat well” by flooding shoppers with pop-up ads and promotions for junk food.
With change in party, Van Drew vanishes from House ag panel
New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who changed parties to become a Republican after voting against the impeachment of President Trump, is the second lawmaker to lose his seat on the House Agriculture Committee in a year. The other was anti-immigrant Republican Steve King of Iowa.
Near-unanimous Senate approval, ‘hopefully soon,’ predicted for USMCA
Grassley has good words for ‘Tariff Man’
South maintains clout on Ag Committee with new member
Republican Sen. Kelly Leoffler, who took office on Monday, will replace fellow Georgian David Perdue on the Senate Agriculture Committee in a step that will assure a strong Southern bloc on the panel. The committee oversees the farm program, although its top issue this year may be re-authorization of child nutrition programs, headlined by WIC and school lunch, that cost $30 billion a year.
Burdened by debt, Borden files for bankruptcy reorganization
Once the world's largest dairy operator, Borden Dairy said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, aiming to reduce its debt load "and position the company for long-term success." The bankruptcy filing over the weekend in Delaware courts followed the November bankruptcy of Dean Foods, one of the largest U.S. milk processors.
USDA approves state hemp production plans
For all its cachet as a potential money-making crop for American farmers, industrial hemp ranked midway between safflower and flaxseed in plantings, with an estimated 230,000 acres in 2019, and industry leaders disagree whether 2020 will be a year of expansion or retrenchment. But the USDA is approving state plans to regulate hemp production and offering crop insurance for hemp growers, steps that could help establish the crop.
Unrelenting opposition to SNAP cuts
Before leaving Washington for the holidays, more than a dozen House Democrats stood in front of the USDA headquarters on the Mall to register their opposition to Trump administration regulations that would eliminate food stamps for 3.7 million people. Rules Committee chairman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, one of the foremost defenders of SNAP, raised the possibility of a congressional lawsuit against the cuts.
U.S. and China to ease, but not end, trade war next week
President Trump says he and Chinese officials will sign a "phase one" trade agreement at the White House on Jan. 15 that will de-escalate the Sino-U.S. tariff war that began in earnest in mid-2018. The agreement obligates China to buy up to $50 billion a year in U.S. farm exports, more than four times the sales level forecast for this year, according to U.S. officials, but details have not been released.
U.S. aquaculture: Smaller numbers, bigger sales
There are 161 fewer U.S. aquaculture farms than earlier this decade but their sales are up more than 10 percent, to $1.5 billion, according to USDA's Census of Agriculture. The 2,932 farms had average sales of roughly $517,000 apiece. Those farms occupy a combined 484,000 acres, or 756 square miles, divided nearly equally between freshwater and saltwater production.
Brazil says Trump changed his mind on steel and aluminum tariffs
Three weeks after he slammed Brazil and Argentina for actions "not good for our farmers," President Trump reversed his decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the South American nations, said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on social media over the weekend. "The relationship between the United States and Brazil has never been Stronger!" tweeted Trump on the same day.
Why don’t we know how much livestock farms pollute the air?
America's thousands of confinement livestock operations pollute the air every day with chemicals like ammonia, methane, and hydrogen sulfide. Yet no one tracks exactly how much air pollution these farms produce, according to FERN's latest story, published with The Nation.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
The rural residents who took on the world’s largest hog producer – and won
EPA issues biofuel mandate, is accused of breaking a deal on ethanol
Lawsuit alleges turkey companies conspired to keep prices high
A new class-action lawsuit brought by two food distributors alleges that the country's top turkey companies conspired for most of the past decade to raise turkey prices. The allegations mirror those brought in recent years against beef, pork, and chicken companies, and all revolve around the use of reports on industry production and pricing made by a secretive data company called Agri Stats.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Ten pesticides approved for use on industrial hemp
House to start ‘new NAFTA’ on its way to reality
The Democratic-controlled House is set to approve one of President Trump’s top priorities today — an updated North American trade pact — a day after impeaching him. The Senate is not expected to give final congressional approval to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement until early next year.