Agriculture

Trade flows of agricultural commodities between the United States, Canada, and Mexico are very large. In 2016, US agricultural imports from Canada totaled $24.9 billion while US exports amounted to $25.3 billion. In the same year, US imports of agricultural products from Mexico reached $24.66 billion and US exports to Mexico were $17.68 billion. Generally, NAFTA has been operating very well except for a few irritants. Trade talks are notoriously slow and agriculture is typically a major point of contention. However, agriculture may not be a major obstacle in the current NAFTA negotiations. [node:read-more:link]

Many interviewed veterinarians indicated that their current recordkeeping practices will suffice for the new requirements and, therefore, they will not need to make any major adjustments. It is likely that veterinarians would have improved their capacity for electronic recordkeeping of VFDs and related documents since the final rule was published in June 2015. Veterinarians did express concern with the time commitment required for recordkeeping, saying that it will take time away from working with the producers and livestock. [node:read-more:link]

Growth in poultry farming has been relentless. In fact, despite the continued preference for pork in Asia, current growth means that global chicken meat consumption will exceed that of pork by 2022, making it the number one meat globally. Egg consumption continues to grow as well because eggs are inexpensive, mild-tasting and are easy to process and include in other foods. Universal acceptance by almost all cultures and all religions ensures that poultry will continue to prosper. [node:read-more:link]

 In a new dynamic for the agricultural sustainability movement, major institutional investors are increasingly engaging food and agricultural corporations to find out how they are managing various climate risks. The role of inquisitive institutional investors was a running theme at the Field to Market Agricultural Sustainability Summit this week in Kansas City, Missouri. [node:read-more:link]

A class-action lawsuit accusing the nation’s top poultry producers of price-fixing since 2008 will move forward now that a federal judge declined to dismiss the action filed in 2016 accusing the defendants of violating the antitrust-focused Sherman Act. Maplevale Farms of Falconer, N.Y., filed the lawsuit more than one year ago, accusing 14 poultry processors – including Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue Farms and Sanderson Farms – of working together to artificially inflate broiler supplies even as feed prices were falling. [node:read-more:link]

Despite making progress on "bread and butter" issues, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said differences remain between Canada and the U.S. on a number of key chapters of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Speaking to reporters as the fifth round of negotiations concluded in Mexico City, the Toronto-area minister said "significant" sticking points include the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The Trump administration's effort to win NAFTA concessions from Canada and Mexico is nearing its March deadline. Some small-business manufacturers fear their concerns will be neglected, including supply-chain disruptions for dealers and distributors, price increases they can't pass on to customers, even risk of bankruptcy.As much as 98 percent of exporting companies are small- and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees. [node:read-more:link]

The United States, Mexico and Canada failed to resolve any major differences in a fifth round of talks to rework the NAFTA trade deal, drawing a swift complaint from the Trump administration on Tuesday that the lack of progress could doom the process. The three nations have vowed to continue talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) through March, but the yawning disagreements on core U.S. demands are piling pressure on negotiators to come up with fixes before Mexico’s 2018 presidential campaign begins in the spring.Mexico and Canada have rejected a U.S. [node:read-more:link]

This Thanksgiving, when scooping ice cream on top of warm apple pie, some Massachusetts lawmakers’ thoughts might turn to tax credits for dairy farmers. They would be expanded under a measure under consideration in the legislature. Given the state's fiscal situation, it isn't expected to become law anytime soon. We are currently milking about 155 cows in our new barn -- it's a 180-stall barn. We have two milking robots. Each milking robot can milk about 60 cows apiece, and — actually, I shouldn't call it a milking robot. It’s a voluntary milking system. The cows go and milk themselves. [node:read-more:link]

ERS webinar on the farm income statement and balance sheet estimates and forecasts three times a year, including February, August and November. These core statistical indicators provide guidance to policy makers, lenders, commodity organizations, farmers, and others interested in the financial status of the farm economy. ERS' farm income statistics also inform the computation of agriculture's contribution to the gross domestic product of the U.S. economy. During this webinar, economist Carrie Litkowski provides the November forecast for 2017. [node:read-more:link]