Agriculture

The American Soybean Association this week announced it will join Farmers for Free Trade. Representing soybean farmers across the nation, ASA is joining the bipartisan campaign self-described as “amplifying the voices of American farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses that support free trade.” ASA CEO Ryan Findlay says agriculture needs “strong likeminded allies” in advocating for new trade agreements and expanding international markets. [node:read-more:link]

Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN has acquired an Iowa-based software company whose soil health and conservation planning software is already helping the company lead the way on innovative conservation stewardship. The Agren business and tools will be operated by the Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN division. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. farmers that are losing money are not alone, according to data collected by the USDA. The study analyzed data from 2015. Over half of U.S. farm households report losses from their farm businesses each year. There is a caveat. Because net farm income isn’t the total contributor to the financial well-being of farm families, tax-loss benefits and asset appreciation pushes the share of households with positive annual farm returns rises from 43 to 70 percent. [node:read-more:link]

A common concern for landowners across the country is how to ensure they are protected from liability if someone is injured on their property.  In fact, in one morning last week, I got three emails from landowners asking what they could do now to be in a position to best defend themselves in the event an injury does occur on their land. [node:read-more:link]

US dairy producers now have a 1.39 billion-pound surplus of cheese, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. That’s the largest domestic reserve of cheddar, Swiss, American, and other cheese varieties on record. It means there’s enough excess cheese to arm each American citizen with a hefty 4.6 pounds of the crumbly, melty, salty good stuff. Why is this happening? Simply put: US dairy producers have been overproducing milk. American cows are more productive than ever. [node:read-more:link]

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges announced July 26 that three universities will partner to lead a new national institute addressing antimicrobial resistance. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and its medical center, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa were selected to head up the new Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education. [node:read-more:link]

Food stamp recipients in New York will not see their ability to use their benefits at farmers’ markets interrupted this summer. Gov. [node:read-more:link]

Urging the state water board to reject a proposal to redirect flows in three Central California rivers, a coalition of more than 50 agricultural, water and business organizations encouraged the board to renew efforts for voluntary agreements with affected water users.  “This unified response from groups representing farmers, ranchers, and urban and rural residents alike demonstrates the impact the water board’s proposal would have, and the need for the board to explore alternative methods that would help fish without the severe human cost of its current approach,” California Farm Bureau Fed [node:read-more:link]

Democrats in the U.S. House are urging President Trump to give fisherman caught in the trade war with China the same benefits announced Tuesday for farmers. Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued a statement yesterday calling the aid to farmers an admission that “tariffs are hurting, not helping, our country.” She said American fishermen are also caught in the crossfire. They say America’s fishermen are hurt coming and going. First, they wrote, fishermen were disadvantaged by the U.S. tariff on imported steel and aluminum, which raises the cost of boats, crab traps and other metal gear. [node:read-more:link]

Several weeks ago, Joni Ernst, junior senator, Iowa, was being questioned by the moderator of CBS' "Face The Nation" on the topic of trade war and the significant price the Trump administration's policy was extracting from pork producers and soybean farmers in her red/purple state.  Sen. Ernst calmly declared that while her agricultural constituents were understandably anxious about the ultimate effectiveness of higher tariffs and continue to extol the virtues of free trade, Iowa proudly remained Trump country -- confident that the president's long-term plan made sense. [node:read-more:link]