Agriculture

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favor of the United States, determining that China had failed to comply with an earlier ruling and faulting them for antidumping and countervailing duties imposed on U.S. chicken imports. With the latest ruling, China will be expected to lower its duties, unless it files an appeal within 20 days.The ruling is the latest development in the trade dispute that dates back to 2010 when China first implemented the antidumping duties of up to 105.4 percent, and anti-subsidy duties of up to 30.3 percent, according to a report from Reuters. [node:read-more:link]

The nation’s farms are in a “new farm crisis” as Kansas State University experts put it during the Cover Your Acres Conference on Jan. 17 in Oberlin, Kansas. And, as Zerr and others in attendance would soon learn from the variety of speakers, it could be another crucial year as farmers battle to turn a profit—especially the ones struggling to make payments on their rising debt. Some financial woes are so deep that economists like Mark Wood questioned whether these farmers can stay in business. [node:read-more:link]

Western United Dairymen (WUD) and the California Dairy Campaign (CDC) have petitioned the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for an emergency hearing to increase over-base milk prices by about 35¢/cwt for the next 12 months. CDFA has 15 days in which to grant or deny the petition for hearing. “The significant negative margins witnessed every quarter since January 2015 have placed many producers in a dire financial situation,” says Annie AcMoody, WUD director of economic analysis. [node:read-more:link]

The fight over a patch of farmland in Goodhue County near Zumbrota is going to the Minnesota Supreme court. Concerned residents are contesting an appeals court ruling that allows construction of a proposed hog farm to go through.Opponents argue the farm would violate county zoning ordinances. [node:read-more:link]

A group of Arkansas state legislators has approved a ban on dicamba use between April 16 and Oct. 31 of this year, meaning that soybean and cotton growers will not be able to use Monsanto's Xtendimax or BASF's Engenia for over-the-top applications. The action by the state's Legislative Council came without discussion this morning. [node:read-more:link]

Farmer has high hopes for her spina bifida treatment as well: At the four-month, postoperative checkup, Darla and Spanky were able to run and play like typical puppies, seemingly free of the debilitating paralysis that plagued them just a month earlier. Within the next year, Farmer plans to file a request with the National Institute of Health to start a clinical trial of the stem cell treatment in human fetuses with spina bifida. Like the puppies, her hope is that children born with spina bifida will be able to enjoy a life free of wheelchairs and walkers. [node:read-more:link]

A bird flu prevention zone has been declared across England as all farmers are told to cover ponds in netting to prevent infected birds landing. The move, announced by the Government's chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens, means all poultry and bird keepers in England have to follow strict measures to protect their livestock from the disease.It comes as 13 dead wild birds were confirmed to have the virus in Warwickshire, following the discovery of the disease in wild birds in Dorset, where a total of 31 infected birds have now been identified. [node:read-more:link]

A federal court is expected to finalize an order Monday that will require untold thousands of farms to report that their animals are continuously releasing at least 100 pounds of ammonia or hydrogen sulfide per day, even though there is no generally accepted way to calculate emissions from decaying manure. The Environmental Protection Agency, which argued against the mandate, has instructed producers to email the National Response Center, rather than deluge the Coast Guard-staffed center with phone calls. [node:read-more:link]

After consultation with government and industry personnel, it’s very clear that milk prices paid to dairy farmers in 2018 still will not be pretty. The price in Federal Order #1 could average between $16.40 per cwt. and $16.60 per cwt. (hundredweight) for this year. This is deplorable, and this time, something must be done.What happens to dairy farmers in Federal Order #1, will also happen all across the United States. [node:read-more:link]

Dave Schwartz has been milking cows full-time for nearly 60 years, through boom times and busts. And since the late 1950s, he’s seen a lot of both. He tries to keep an optimistic outlook, but that’s been a difficult thing to do lately, as milk prices fall — prices in 2018 so far are nearing a two-year low. Schwartz says that’s putting a lot of financial stress on his dairy farm near the southwestern Minnesota community of Slayton.“It’s just a survival thing and hopefully you can hang in there until it turns around,” said Schwartz. “That’s kind of the way dairying is. [node:read-more:link]